Always
by kimpfn
Summary: Sequel to "Miss Independent." It's been almost four months, and everything's been going great for Bronwyn. But when someone from her past returns, it's going to turn her world upside down...Chapter Ten: Bronwyn's Lunch Date...I LIIIIVE...AGAIN! ;;
1. Default Chapter

I know that I said it would be a while, but this story was just calling to me...I couldn't ignore it, could I???

  


Disclaimer: I do not own YYH or any of the characters in it. I do own Bronwyn and Hoku. 

  


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*Always* 

  


*Chapter One*

  
  


The pitch-black sky was littered with stars that shone brightly over the deserted road leading out of town. 

  


Not a soul was to be seen. No cars driving down the usually heavily populated road, no people taking a leisurely stroll down the sidewalk. The only noise came from the flickering of the ancient street lamps situated on both sides of the streets, lighting the otherwise dark and cold street. 

  


A head suddenly poked around the corner of a department building situated at the corner of the road. They glanced around nervously a few times, and then brought their head back behind the store for a moment. 

  


Leaving the safety of the shadows, the figure began to slowly walk out into the middle of the street. Passing under a streetlight, you could see that she was a female, who looked to be around eighteen years of age, with long red hair and large brown eyes. Disappearing back into the dark, she abruptly stopped her pace and turned her head to look behind her, and seemed to grow angry when she could see that the area was empty. 

  


Throwing her hands up, she ran back to the department store and came back out dragging another figure by the arm furiously. As the pair passed under the light once again, you could see that she was pulling along with her a boy who seemed to be the same age, with blond hair and small hazel eyes which were darting around nervously, as if he didn't know what he was supposed to be thinking. 

  


"Come on, come on, come on!!! If you want me to help you with your assignment, then you have to come on!!" The girl shrieked, staring at the boy with angry eyes. 

  


"O-okay...what w-was your name a-again?" He stuttered, too afraid of the task ahead of him to talk clearly.

  


"For the hundredth and first time, it's Bronwyn!!!" She screamed angrily. 

  


As she yanked him fiercely down the sidewalk, his thoughts ventured to a speech that his master had given a while before his assignment had begun. He had been addressing the group of new recruits about the punishment of betrayal to him. He told them about a female assassin, one who had been working with him for six years, who chose her victim over her job, and paid for her choice with her own life. The women's name was Bronwyn. And he had been given the task to kill the demon that she had been incapable of killing three months ago.

  


_Could this be the same women that he supposedly killed?..._He thought as he glanced curiously at the women dragging him along behind her..._ And even if it was, why would she be offering to help me kill the demon that she gave her own life for??? _

  


"Um, e-excuse me, m-miss?" The young man asked nervously. Bronwyn turned her head angrily. 

  


"What is it?" She snapped. "I'm doing you a big favor, helping you to kill this fire demon you're after. So you need to be grateful." She paused for a moment, just staring at him. "WELL, WHAT IS IT??" 

  


"Oh, y-yes..." He whispered, a little stunned from her outburst, "W-well, I was just w-wondering if you h-have ever been an a-assassin before." 

  


Bronwyn, who had turned her head back to the road for the moment, brought her head back around to look at the boy, and he could of sworn that he saw a flash of worry in her eyes for a second. But it was quickly replaced with a small laugh. "Of course not. Why would you ask such a stupid question?" 

  


"W-well, my boss t-talked about k-killing a girl with y-your n-name. S-She g-gave her life for t-the demon I'm s-supposed to k-ill." 

  


"Well, that's idiotic. First of all, If he killed her, than how could she still be alive, talking to you?" She said airily, even though the smallest trace of nervousness was in her voice. "Second of all, why I give my life for someone I'm about to help you kill?" 

  


"Y-yeah, I h-had the s-same thought." He said, laughing quietly. _I guess it's not the same person..._

  


After several more minutes of walking, they finally reached the edge of the forest, where a small rickety park bench sat. Letting go of the boy's arm, Bronwyn took a seat on the bench and motioned for him to join her. 

  


"Now, what was your name again?" 

  


"H-Hoku." 

  


She smiled slightly. "And who do you work for?" 

  


"Z-Zink." 

  


Hoku was sure that he saw her scowl at the name, but he dismissed it as his imagination. They sat in silence for a minute, before Hoku gained enough confidence to question her. 

  


"Excuse m-me, Bronwyn, but w-what are we doing h-here?" He whispered nervously. 

  


She closed her eyes. "I told the fire demon that he should meet me here. He'll probably be here soon." She whispered. 

  


"Do you k-know him?" 

  


"Yep. He thinks I'm his friend, but I hate the guy. Too stubborn for words." She groaned. 

  


More silence. 

  


Suddenly, a sound that resembled a knock on a wooden door echoed through the forest, and even though Hoku ignored it, Bronwyn's eyes perked up at the sound. 

  


"He's almost here." She said quietly, pulling out her knife.

  


"W-What's going to h-happen? Does he k-know I'm h-here??" Hoku asked nervously. He reached into his back pocket, pulling out a pocket knife of his own. Bronwyn glanced at it for a moment. 

  


"Did Zink give you that?" She asked suspiciously, with a slight tone of hate in her voice. 

  


Hoku nodded slightly. The sight of the knife seemed to give him strength, igniting some sort of fire within him. 

  


"I can't wait forever, women." He snarled, his stutter gone. Bronwyn noticed the sudden change in his personality. 

  


"You okay?" She asked with a sense of worry, eyeing him nervously. 

  


"No, Zink likes his victims killed fast and swift. This is taking way too long. Am I going to have to kill you as well?" He growled, holding up the knife to her face. As Bronwyn stared at the knife, she noticed a small engraving on the side of the handle. A delicate black word...._hatred._

  


"The blood knife." She whispered softly.

  


"What was that?" Hoku whispered menacingly, the knife moving closer towards her face. 

  


"Nothing. He'll be here soon, don't worry." She said smoothly. 

  


Hoku brought the knife back cautiously, still grasping it tightly. 

  


But after a few more minutes of waiting, he seemed to be on his last nerve. Wringing his hands around the handle, he reached forward and grabbed the collar of Bronwyn's shirt. "IF HE ISN'T HERE SOON, I'LL STAB YOU!!!" 

  


A bright flash of light suddenly seemed to erupt from the trees , swiping down between Bronwyn and Hoku. Hoku fell off the bench onto the ground, and for a moment, all he could see were two dark shadows standing over him, whispering to each other. 

  


"He was the easiest one yet..." 

  


"I feel a little bad for him, though. Maybe we don't have to kill him....Just send him back to Zink." 

  


As Hoku rubbed his eyes, he sat up and stared at the two people standing in front of him. His eyes fell on Bronwyn first, her arms crossed, and a smug smile on her face. His eyes then shifted over to the person standing beside her, a dark haired teenage boy wearing a black cloak, and staring at him with an angry expression. It took him a second to realize who it was...._The fire demon, Hiei..._He thought, remembering a picture he had seen. 

  


Hiei brought his sword to the boy's neck. "You fell for it." He spoke simply. 

  


"W-What?" The boy's stutter had returned, and Bronwyn noticed that he had dropped the knife on the ground. 

  


Hoku's eyes moved over to Bronwyn. "I t-thought you...you..." He whispered, too confused to think straight. 

  


"Quite the convincing liar, aren't I?" She spoke boldly. "If you're wondering, I actually am the Bronwyn that Zink _thought _he had killed. And unless you want to die like the others who have come after Hiei, I suggest you go back to Zink and tell him that it's going to take more than bakas like you to complete his dream of killing Hiei." 

  


Too scared to think, Hoku nodded nervously and reached over to grab the knife, but Bronwyn had beat him to it. "I don't think so." She said, scrounging it up. The minute she touched it, she suddenly felt the strong urging to kill, the same one she had felt six years ago....she shook her head violently and threw the knife as far into the forest as she could. _I hate that knife..._

  


Hoku got up as fast as he possibly could, and began running in the opposite direction. Bronwyn and Hiei watched him go, and then he turned towards her. "Something seemed different about you when you touched that knife." 

  


Bronwyn sighed. "Zink called it the blood knife. He gives it to all the newcomers. It fills them with an urge for blood, for death, so strong that they usually always follow through with their assignments." She paused for a second. "Do you want to go back to Kurama's house?" 

  


Hiei nodded, and they began to walk in the direction of the kitsune's home....

  


******

  


"Well, here we are." Bronwyn said, as they approached the doorstep. "Goodnight." Leaning forward, she kissed him on the lips softly. 

  


Though what was meant to be a goodnight kiss quickly turned into a longer kiss, and then a french-kiss....

  


"You know, if you wanted to do that, you could just come inside. I wouldn't mind staying up here." Kurama's amused voice floated down from the sky. 

  


The two broke away from each other immediately and glanced up at the house to see Kurama's head sticking out of the second-story window, smiling at them. 

  


"Are you spying on us?" Bronwyn asked angrily. 

  


Kurama, starting to laugh, nodded. 

  


She glanced back at Hiei with a blank expression on her face. "Excuse me." She opened the door to the household and disappeared inside. Hiei leaned on the door casually as he listened to Bronwyn stomping up the stairs, and then a low "ow!!" was heard. 

  


"If you wanted to be alone, you could of just asked, you didn't have to kick me." Kurama's disgruntled voice floated from the window. Then Bronwyn came back down the stairs and appeared back at the door, an angry expression on her face. 

  


"Now, that that's taken care of, where were we?" She asked, her furious look being replaced with a smile. 

  


They began to kiss again.....

  


"Yuck!!! Get a room, would you???" A teenage boy was passing on the sidewalk, a disgusted look on his face. He glanced at Bronwyn, and then at Hiei. "Man, you could do a lot better than her." He laughed.

  


Bronwyn clenched her fists. "Why you little brat...." She left Hiei to run into the darkness after the teenager. 

  


"Ouch!!! I hope you know that my dad's a lawyer, lady!!!" Hiei heard the boy cry after a minute. 

  


"Yeah, yeah, just get!!! Shoo!!!" Bronwyn screamed, and the sound of pounding footsteps echoed as the boy began to run down the sidewalk. She returned to the doorstep, now looking tired instead of angry. 

  


"Why don't we stop for tonight? SINCE EVERY DAMN PERSON IN THIS CITY SEEMS TO WANT TO INTERRUPT US!!" She screamed into the darkness, not really at anyone in particular. 

  


Hiei sighed, and then nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow." 

  


"Okay." She kissed him once again on the cheek and then watched as he walked away. She sighed also and entered the house. She passed Kurama on the stairs, wearing a slight grin. He opened his mouth to speak, but Bronwyn's death glare scared him so much that he decided against it.

  


"Don't you dare talk to me, you evil, EVIL..." 

  


"I said I was sorry....." Kurama said quietly, holding up his hands protectively in front of him. 

  


Her angry expression softened a bit. "It's okay. I'm going to bed." Waving a limp goodbye, she headed up to the bedroom, her head only filled with thoughts of how tired, how utterly exhausted she was....

  


Collapsing onto the bed the minute she entered the room, she pushed all thoughts from her mind and drifted of to sleep....

  


***

  


_It seemed to be the same forest clearing from her last dream, Bronwyn noticed immediately as she glanced around at the green foliage surrounding her. She had seemed to have so many dreams taking place in the forest lately that it was getting a bit boring._

  


_But after a minute of studying the area, she noticed that something seemed a little bit...different. Usually, her dreams in the forest had a hazy, unrealistic feeling to them, that made her realize right away that what she was experiencing wasn't really happening..._

  


_But, this dream seemed a lot more...real. It felt like she was actually there, that she could just reach out and feel her hand against the bark of the tree in front of her..._

  


_She suddenly noticed the two people standing in front of her. She recognized Hiei right away, who was saying something to the other person, whose face Bronwyn couldn't see, wearing an angry expression. She couldn't hear him, though. The voices seemed to be on mute. _

  


_She watched as the other person shook their head softly and unsheathed a large shimmering sword and brought the point to Hiei's head. Their body shook for a second, as if they were laughing, and they pulled the sword back. _

  


_Bronwyn realized after only a couple of seconds what was coming next. She looked back at Hiei with a desperate look on her face, waiting for him to move, run, pull his own sword out...but to her surprise, he didn't move at all, his eyes locked on the unknown person's sword. _

  


_They swiftly launched the sword forward, and it sliced into Hiei's chest. _

  


_Bronwyn clapped a hand over her mouth to keep herself from screaming, not believing in what she was seeing. _

  


_The attacker shoved Hiei to the ground fiercely, and then brought down the sword again, cutting into Hiei's neck. _

  


_Blood, so much blood..._

  


_Bronwyn looked away, tears welling up in her eyes. The realization that this was all a dream was getting smaller and smaller in her mind. _

  


_She shook her head furiously, trying to ignore the repeated stabbing motions she was hearing...._

  


_"No, no, no, no, no, no..." She repeated over and over again..._

  


_***_

  


"NO!!!!" 

  


Bronwyn sat up straight in bed, her body shaking violently all over. 

  


She glanced around the dark room furiously, trying to comprehend that she was back in the bedroom, that what she had just witness hadn't really happened, was nothing more than a dream..._It seemed so real..._

  


After a few minutes, her breathing was starting to return to normal, and she could think straight again. 

  


_WHAT WAS THAT???? _

  


***

  


_October 30_

  


_It's 2:00 in the morning, and I can't sleep anymore. I don't think I'll ever sleep again. I had a horrible dream, one that keeps running through my mind over and over again..._

  


_I watched as Hiei was stabbed over and over again by someone who I couldn't see. All this blood, going everywhere.....It was awful._

  


_The one thing I don't understand, though, is why didn't Hiei move? Do something???? He just stood there and let himself be killed. He didn't even try to move. That confuses me..._

  


_I couldn't hear what they were saying, either, even though I did see that their mouths were moving, so I know that they were talking. What were they talking about?_

  


_And who was that other person????? So cruel....so brutal....._

  


_I need to stop trying to analyze it. It was a stupid dream that I'll probably never have again. I need to just forget about it and get on with my life...._

  


_Then why did it seem so real???? Why did it seem like it was actually happening?????_

  


_I just don't get it....._

  


_*Bronwyn* _

  


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How was that for a beginning??? Good? Bad?? 

  


*Next Chapter* 

  


During a training session with Hiei, Bronwyn collides with someone who she hasn't seen in almost three years....someone who she's always wanted to forget....someone who she wants to see burn in hell....and Hiei and Kurama actually LIKE him???

  


REVIEW!!!!


	2. Chapter Two: He's Back

I'm trying to update at regular intervals, but go slow because my mind has come to a screeching halt for Chapter Four!! I've got a ton of ideas (Including a double date, or maybe a triple date..) But I can't write them down!!

  


Oh, yes, and the beginning is going to make absolutely NO sense until MUCH MUCH MUCH later. Really, it's going to be a while....__

  


_Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of the characters. I do own Bronwyn, Zink, Hoku, Aiku, Leita, Ryuka, Mieia, Tyuna, and Rulli. Wow, that's a lot!!!_

_******************************************************************************_

  


_Leita, Ryuka, Mieia, Tyuna_

  


_The Four Prism Demons_

  


_All will be freed_

  


_Under the silver blood, shining in the full moon_

  


_Of the only one they have all met before_

  


_The dark and pure one_

  


_Not by force, but by will _

_And only when they have consumed the spirit of the one meant to release them_

  


_Will they be able to roam the world again _

  


****

  


His eyes skimmed over the words once again, growing more and more confused with each passing second. Using the last of her energy, Tyuna had managed to give him the fading parchment, the prophecy splattered across it in blood-red letters, before being confined to her glass prison along with the other three powerful demons. He remembered her story of how she had received it... 

  


****

  


_"You wanted to see me, Rulli?" The young raven-haired girl spoke timidly to the dark figure sitting in the large golden chair. _

  


_"Yes, child. Come over next to me." A withered pale hand beckoned her to the flames of the fire. _

  


_Not really knowing what to think, The girl scurried over cautiously. _

  


_"I am a psychic, yes?" _

  


_"Yes, mam." _

  


_"And do you believe what your parents tell you, that I'm nothing more than an old hag?" _

  


_"Not at all." _

  


_The old woman sighed heavily. "Good. Because I have something important to tell you. Lean in closer." _

  


_The girl did what she was told, lowering her head to the chair. _

  


_"Now listen to me. I'm going to die soon, but before I do, you need to know something. You are a demon, no?" _

  


_"Yes, I am." _

  


_"And your brother?" _

  


_"He is one too." _

  


_"You and your brother both will become quite powerful. But you will surpass all. You will make an alliance with three other equally powerful demons, and will rule the world." _

  


_"R-Really?" The girl spoke nervously, though quite pleased at how this was turning out. She had always dreamed of being someone who conquered the world. _

  


_"But you and your group will eventually fall. You will be trapped in a glass dome, doomed to spend all eternity there." The women said sullenly. _

  


_"W-What???" The girl spoke, afraid of her fate. "For all t-time?" _

  


_"Maybe not. I have foreseen another human freeing you, giving their blood willingly so you can roam again. But you must find who before it is too late. Remember that this will not take place until many centuries later. Here." She held out a piece of brown parchment for the child to take. _

  


_"W-What is this?" She asked, grabbing the paper carefully and unrolling it, reading the words carefully. But when she looked up, she wore quite a confused look. _

  


_"I d-don't understand, Rulli." _

  


_The old women sighed. "My mother gave it to me and told me to give it to my daughter's child when I felt that it was my time to go." She put her hand on the parchment delicately and stared at the small girl with warning eyes. "Never lose it. You will need it to free yourself when the time comes." _

  


_Even though the girl didn't know what to think anymore, she nodded. " I will." _

  


_"Good. You may leave, Tyuna." _

  


_****_

  


It was many centuries later and now he was in possession of the parchment. Before she had been imprisoned, Tyuna had told him that to free her once again, he had to find out who the person in the prophecy, "the dark and pure one", was. If he succeeded, her and the others would give him more power than he had ever dreamed of. 

  


A sudden rapping on the large wooden door brought him back to reality. Sighing, he placed the parchment back onto the side table in his throne room. He would work on figuring out the prophecy later...

  


"Come in." He spoke coldly, watching as the doors were pushed open slowly, and a blond haired, hazel eyed, boy entered the room, glancing around the room with worried eyes. 

  


"Hoku, you have returned back early. Did you succeed in killing Hiei?" He asked the quivering boy, who was shaking so badly it was difficult to stand. 

  


"Zink, I c-couldn't. They t-tricked m-me." The boy stuttered, looking like he would faint any second. 

  


Zink rose from his chair angrily. "You have failed, Hoku. You will pay for your uncompleted assignment." Zink began to move swiftly towards Hoku, who was cowering. 

  


"P-Please, Zink!! I w-would of b-been able t-to, but this g-girl t-tricked me!!!" 

  


Zink stopped his pace immediately. "What girl?" He asked suspiciously. 

  


"She t-told me that s-she was g-going to h-help me kill H-Hiei, but s-she was actually on his s-side!!!" 

  


Zink stared at Hoku sternly. _It couldn't be....I killed her....I saw her die...._

  


"Did you get this girl's name?" 

  


"Y-Yeah, B-Bronwyn." 

  


Zink stiffened up at the word. "That's impossible. Are you sure??" 

  


"Y-Yes. She t-told me to t-tell you that you d-didn't really k-kill her, and that if you w-want to k-kill H-Hiei, you're going to have t-to send better a-assassins." 

  


Zink clenched his fist, slamming it onto the side table, which caused Hoku to jump in the air two feet. "That bitch!!!" He growled angrily. 

  


"M-May I g-go?" Hoku whispered, receiving an angry glare from Zink. 

  


"FINE, JUST GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!!!" 

  


Hoku turned and was out the door in mere seconds, as Zink slumped back into his chair. _She'll be able to catch all the assassins I send...._A thought entered his mind...._Unless I can send someone that....hmm.....It's perfect....he hasn't been working for me long, but he'll do perfectly on this assignment....what a perfect hand that fate has given me...._

  


_******************************************************************************_

  


_WHY CAN'T I JUST FORGET ABOUT THAT DAMN DREAM!?!?!?!?!?!?! _

  


Every time that Bronwyn tried to think about something else, her mind always brought her back to the sight of Hiei being stabbed in the neck....

  


She was supposed to be meeting Hiei in a couple of minutes for training. Only after a few weeks of her new life in the human world, Bronwyn had wanted to improve her fighting skills greatly, since she might need them later. And who better to help her than Hiei??? He had refused at first, even when she used her sad face (Which usually worked), but she had eventually worn him down, and he agreed to train with her for two hours once a week. At first, he was quite disgruntled, but after a while, he had started to enjoy it. He was much better than Bronwyn could ever be, and always beat her in sword fights.

  


Putting her hair up in a ponytail, she left the bedroom and took the stairs two at a time, relieved to be able to do something that probably would help get her mind off things. _Today's the day I will finally at least get close to beating Hiei...._

  


_Yeah, Yeah, you always think that, and then you get whipped....._Another voice mockingly whispered. __

  


She passed the empty living room on her way out. Kurama had to go to school, and the house was unusually quiet. 

  


She exited the houses and set out down the sidewalk towards the forest. But after only a few minutes, she started to get a weird feeling that she was being followed....She cocked her head abruptly, but could see no one behind her on the sidewalk. Shrugging, she continued on her way, but the sensation came back. She turned her head again, but this time faster, and caught a slight glimpse of a black shadow behind her for a second before it disappeared. She smiled slightly. 

  


"Hiei, you know I hate it when you do this!!" She yelled, though in a playful tone. He suddenly appeared beside her. 

  


"Are you ready?" He asked, as they crossed the street. 

  


"Yes, and today's the day I swear that I'm going to beat you." 

  


"Not likely." 

  


They were finally at the edge of the forest, and started down the path quickly. After a few minutes of walking, they finally reached the clearing that they usually did their training in. 

  


Bronwyn pulled her knife out of her pocket. Even though it was from Zink, she felt attached to it, and had decided to keep it after the incident. Gripping the handle, it transformed into a large silver sword, which she pointed at Hiei, who had brought out his own sword as well. 

  


"Go easy on me, okay? Remember last week?" She pulled up her shirt sleeve to reveal a large cut going almost all the way around her arm. Hiei only smirked at it. 

  


"Learn how to dodge faster." He said, pointing his sword to her own. 

  


"Yeah, you can make fun of me for now, but you won't be talking when I beat you...." 

  


They began slowly, not really trying to hit each other, just swinging their sword at the others, but then it began to get faster. Even though Hiei wasn't using his full skills, it was requiring a little more effort than usual to fight her off. _She's getting better...._

  


But even though Bronwyn's skills were increasing, in due time, Hiei's sword was against her neck once again. 

  


"You lose." He said, drawing his sword back, smirking broadly. 

  


Bronwyn sighed heavily, and transformed the sword back into its original form. "I can never win...." She whispered, staring at her knife with mournful eyes. 

  


"Care for another go?" She asked hopefully, wanting another chance. 

  


"It's going to end the same way." 

  


"We'll see about that...." 

  


They went at it again, each swipe faster than the last, but after twenty minutes, Bronwyn's sword went flying into the trees. She watched it sullenly. 

  


"I give up...." She whispered, running into the trees after it. She started to search through the bushes and shrubs, hoping to see a glint of metal. But after fifteen minutes of looking with no luck, she was about to start back to the clearing to get Hiei to help her, when she felt a light tap on the shoulder. 

  


"Lose this?" A male voice said slickly, holding out the sword in his hands. 

  


She turned around, and immediately found herself at a loss for words. The person standing in front of her was a lean teenage looking boy, who was a bit taller than her, with night-black hair and crystal green eyes. He was smiling slightly at Bronwyn, holding out her sword even further. 

  


"You....it's...you..." She choked out. 

  


His smile broke out into a grin. "How are you doing, Wyn?" 

  


Looking down at her sword in his arms, she immediately snatched it and grasped it protectively, beginning to back away. "No...it can't be...." 

  


She turned and began to run, back towards the clearing. She wanted to get away from him, as far as she could. One look in his eyes and everything had come back....the things that had haunted her for so long....

  


Finally breaking back out from the trees into the clearing, where Hiei noticed that her hands were shaking. 

  


"What's wrong?" 

  


She didn't answer him. The only thing she could hear were the footsteps, his footsteps, getting closer and closer...

  


The raven-haired teenager finally broke through the trees, still wearing a smile. "Don't you remember me, Wyn?" He said mockingly. "Your old boyfriend, Aiku?" 

  


"Of course I do, even though I wish I didn't." She snapped, her anger now outweighing every other scared and worried feeling she was having. The last time she had seen Aiku was right before he had stabbed her....and now she was yearning to return the favor. 

  


"I remember you. The bastard that stabbed me and threw me out onto the street?" She growled.

  


"Wyn, get over it. You know I wasn't myself that night." Aiku scowled. 

  


"Oh, then why didn't you come to get me the morning after?" 

  


Not being able to think of a good explanation, Aiku looked away frustratingly. .

  


"I thought so." Bronwyn whispered, crossing her arms furiously. "You don't know how bad I want to hurt you right now." 

  


Aiku just stared at her for a minute, and then chuckled softly. "You couldn't hurt me if you tried." 

  


His gaze traveled over from Bronwyn to Hiei for a moment, noticing for the first time he was there. 

  


"Who is this?" 

  


"My boyfriend. Got a problem?" She spoke boldly, her eyes narrowing at Aiku. 

  


A faint look of surprise flickered onto Aiku's face for a moment, but it was quickly replaced with a slight smirk. 

  


"No problems. I just thought that I might have taught you a lesson." He whispered, eyeing both of them playfully. His eyes fell on Hiei's sword. 

  


"You sword-fight?" He asked directly to Hiei.

  


Hiei nodded curtly, not really sure what to think of this stranger. _Bronwyn dislikes him...I wonder why...._

  


Aiku grinned. "So do I." He pulled out a small knife, and gripped the handle tightly, causing it to take shape of a long, shimmering sword. 

  


"Where did you get that?" Bronwyn asked him angrily, noticing that the knife was of the same fashion that hers was. 

  


"I bought it." He said, staring at it fondly, "I've been training with a friend of mine for a few years." He held it out in front of him and swung it a few times. "Care to try your luck? I'd like to see what I'm capable of." He said, looking at Hiei expectantly. 

  


Hiei held up his own sword. "I warn you that you might shed blood." 

  


Aiku smiled. "I can handle that." 

  


They started quickly, as Bronwyn looked on. She couldn't help notice that Aiku was quite good, a lot better than her, and was causing Hiei to try harder than he had to try with her. 

  


After almost an hour had passed, both were looking tired, and Hiei, wanting to end this, swung the sword fiercely at Aiku's sword, who managed to strike back, but lost the grip on his sword, causing it to clatter to the ground. Hiei pointed the tip at Aiku's neck. 

  


"You have some skills." Hiei whispered, drawing his sword back. Aiku grinned, bending over to pick up his own sword. "You're quite good also." He said. 

  


Bronwyn, who had settled onto the forest floor, jumped up at this point. "Aiku, I'm wondering, what the heck are you doing here?" She snapped, even though it was a little softer than before. 

  


"I'm just passing through. Do you guys know where I could find a place to stay?" 

  


Bronwyn and Hiei looked at one another, and then back at Aiku. "No." Bronwyn said coldly. 

  


"C'mon, Wyn, I know you hate me, but you could at least point me in the direction of a place. Where are you staying? I know that you don't live here." 

  


"With a friend." She said simply. And I _do_ live here, for your information."

  


"Well, I'm just wanting something over my head for a few days." He shrugged innocently.

  


"You know, Kurama wouldn't mind letting him stay at his home for a while...." Hiei whispered to Bronwyn, who shot him a incredulous look. 

  


"Are you suggesting that I allow _HIM _to stay in the same house as me?"

  


Hiei just stared at her for a minute and then looked away. "No." He said, "But it seems like he isn't going to leave you alone until you offer something."

  


Bronwyn glanced at Aiku, who was waiting patiently, and sighed. "Fine." 

  


*******

  


"Tell me this, is there a sign on the roof of my home that says "Motel"??" Kurama said, disgruntled, staring at Bronwyn.

  


"Hey, don't look at me!" She screamed protectively, "I wasn't the one who first had the idea." She pointed at Hiei, who was trying to ignore it. 

  


Aiku was standing in the doorway, glancing around at the home admirably. "Nice place you got here." He said cooly, staring at Kurama.

  


"Thank-you." Kurama whispered, looking Aiku over cautiously. "Well, if it's only for a week, I guess you could sleep in the den." He sighed. 

  


Aiku grinned. "Thanks a lot. I'm just staying in town until Friday." He entered the house further, settling down on the couch in the living room. 

  


Kurama moved over near Bronwyn. "If you don't mind me asking, Bronwyn, why do you keep glaring at him?" 

  


"Because I hate him." She said in a matter-of-fact tone. 

  


"He seems very polite to me..." 

  


"WHAT?? YOU ACTUALLY LIKE HIM????" She whispered in the loudest voice she could muster without being overheard by Aiku. 

  


"Can't you just tolerate him for a week?" Kurama asked nervously, a little worried at her behavior toward the stranger. 

  


" I guess so. As long as he stays as far away from me as possible." She scowled. 

  


***

  


"So, would you mind telling us a bit about yourself?" Kurama asked curiously. It was late at night and he, Aiku, Bronwyn, and Hiei were all in the living room, not really doing much of anything, just sitting and staring at the fire crackling in the fireplace loudly. Kurama and Aiku ocuppied the two armchairs, while Bronwyn and Hiei were sitting close together on the couch, holding hands. 

  


"Well..." Aiku began quietly, the fire casting shadows across his face, glancing at Bronwyn nervously, since she was the only one present who knew where he had lived all his life. 

  


She nodded. "They're both demons." 

  


Aiku sighed happily. "Well, that's good. I was born in the Makai World to human thieves who worked with the demons and I was brought up with them and lived with them for pretty much my entire life. When I was fifteen, I looked to see if I could get a job as an assassin, but he turned me down because they didn't think I was skilled enough, but I did get a job as a private messenger for Zink. That's when I met Bronwyn..." 

  


"Hmph." Bronwyn scowled.

  


"....And we hit it off. But we decided to go our separate ways...."

  


"WE DECIDED TO GO OUR SEPARATE WAYS????" Bronwyn repeated what Aiku had just said furiously, glaring daggers at him. "THAT'S A LIE!!! YOU TRIED TO KILL ME!!!" 

  


The room fell silent. Both Hiei and Kurama turned to look at Bronwyn. 

  


"He tried to kill you?" Kurama repeated the sentence nervously. 

  


She nodded angrily, still not lifting her gaze of hatred on Aiku. He stared back at her sternly a moment and then smirked. 

  


"One, that was almost three years ago." He said airily, holding up one finger. "Two, I wasn't really myself that night." He lifted another finger. "You have to believe me, Wyn." He whispered, wearing a pleading look. 

  


She looked away. "Whatever, just tell them the rest." 

  


He continued on with the story, telling them about how he had quit his job and came to the human world, where he was now looking to see what he could find here, but as he spoke, his attention wasn't really on what he was saying, it was on Bronwyn as she laid her head on Hiei's shoulder. 

  


_She really seems to love him......_He thought mildly, as he watched a smile grow on her face as she closed her eyes. 

  


He grinned. _It will just make it all the more painful._

  


*****

  


_October 31_

  


_Three words. AIKU IS HERE. In the same house I am, asleep downstairs at this very moment. How completely horrible is this???? I won't be able to take this for very long, because every time I look at him, it brings back too many bad memories that I'm wanting to forget, to push away from my mind forever. _

  


_And the biggest problem is that he's acting so.....nice. Polite. And even though I still announced that he actually tried to kill me to Hiei and Kurama, I can tell that they both have developed a liking to him. I know that he's not really like this, and that he deserves every mean word I say to him, but I'm starting to feel....a little bit....bad about it. He's being really kind to me. I don't know how I should be acting anymore, if I should just give in and be nice to him or not....I think that I'm just going to ignore_ _him the entire time he's here, pretend he doesn't exist. _

  


_I'm going to bed. I need to clear my mind...._

  


_*Bronwyn*_

  
  


_******************************************************************************_

  


*Next chapter (Humor, pretty much)*

  


*Bronwyn drags Hiei (with Aiku tagging along) to the mall to help her buy clothes...oh, the perils of shopping....*

  


*Aiku meets the rest of the gang....and what's this?? Botan seems to have a little crush on him!* 

  


*The raven-haired newcomer reveals a special gift that will help his former girlfriend out....* 

  


Review!! 


	3. Chapter Three: Shopping!

Hey, ya'll! This is a humor chapter, pretty much!! Those are always fun to write!!

  


I've decided to start writing responses to my reviews, since I think that I should acknowledge them in some way, so here it goes..

  


Kaeru Soyokaze: You're always the first person to usually review the new chapters....thanks!!! But anyways, your rant session might be in vain....that's all I'm saying...hehehehe....

  


Fire Phoenix: Yeah, poor Bronwyn, this is a really rough time for her. She just can't get a break...

  


angelkeiko300: I was wondering where you went....but, yes, I have already suffered through a week of school...I live in Texas, where you start school a month earlier...

  


Raine Jaganshi: Yeah, my updates will probably start getting less frequent unless I'm hit with inspiration all of a sudden...

  


Mega91045: Well, I thought about that too...I don't really know...he wasn't going to stop bugging her until she did _something...._

  


Boomerang-chan-Weeeellll....see, it's actually not going to be explained in later chapters. This is really a saga-sort of thing....and even though the whole prophecy thing will be explained a small bit further, it isn't going to come into play until around the fourth story. Well, patience has always been a virtue....

  


Animechick8: Thanks!!! 

  


Disclaimer: I do not own YYH. I do own Bronwyn and Aiku. Thank you for your time.

  


*****************************************************************************

  


Bronwyn's peaceful sleep was interrupted by the bright sunlight shining right into her eyes. She raised an arm to shield herself, sitting up in bed. 

  


_I could of sworn that I pulled the shades last night...._

  


"It's noon. How late are you going to sleep?" A lean figure whispered, staring out the window nonchalantly. 

  


Bronwyn squinted through the rays of the sun to see Aiku, his back to her. 

  


"WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY BEDROOM?!?!?!" She screamed furiously, grasping around on the bedside table for the nearest thing she could throw, finally landing a hand on a large hardcover book. "GET OUT OF HERE!!!" She cried, launching the book at him fiercely. 

  


Spinning around, Aiku ducked, the book narrowly missing his head, and the bright smile he had been wearing quickly transformed into a scowl. "Sheesh, sorry, I just thought that you slept long enough."

  


"GET...OUT..."

  


Starting to look a little frightened, Aiku left the room angrily, storming out the door. Bronwyn sighed, pulling herself over to the edge of the bed. 

  


_I forgot that he was always a up and at em' kind of person...._

  


*********

  


Bronwyn carefully made her way down the stairs, clutching the money Kurama had given her tightly in her hand. She remembered what he had said a few days ago...

  


_"Since you are now living here permanently, you are going to need some new clothes. I suggest that you go to the mall...."_

  


As she entered the living room, she noticed Aiku skimming through a magazine with little interest. When he glanced up and noticed Bronwyn, though, he set the magazine down immediately. "Where's Kurama?"

  


"He goes to school." She snapped, moving into the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water. 

  


"Well, I guess it's just you and me then...."

  


"Correction: It's just you. I'm going shopping." 

  


"Well, can't I come? I'm bored." 

  


"NO." 

  


"Please? It's no fun going shopping by yourself. I could help you..."

  


"I'm not going by myself. I'm going to get Hiei to go with me." 

  


Aiku laughed at this. "He doesn't seem like the shopping type." 

  


"I don't care. He's going, whether he likes it or not." 

  


"Then can I go with the both of you?"

  


Bronwyn took a large swig of the water and turned her head to look at the kitchen entrance where Aiku was leaning against the side wall casually, wearing a pleading look on his face. 

  


She sighed heavily. _He's not going to leave me alone....It wouldn't hurt...._

  


"Fine. You can come along, but one, don't talk to me, and two, stay a few feet away from me at all times, okay?" 

  


He smiled. "God, you really hate me, don't you?" 

  


Pushing the money to the bottom of her pocket, Bronwyn headed for the front door, but Aiku beat her to it, pulling it open so she could walk out. "Ladies first." He whispered, extending a hand to usher her out. 

  


"Save it." She growled, shooting him a cold glare. This hardly seemed to faze Aiku, though. He closed the door behind them softly and they both strolled out into the sunlight. It was a beautiful day, with not a cloud in the sky. Aiku seemed to find this lifting and began to hum an unfamiliar tune. 

  


A group of chatting girls approaching the pair on the sidewalk immediately stopped talking when they noticed Aiku, who smiled at them. "How you doing, ladies?" He said slickly, nodding at them. 

  


The girls glanced at each other and then startled to giggle quietly. "Fine." A chorus of squeaky voices echoed. 

  


Aiku watched them walk away, and then turned his head back to see Bronwyn giving him a disgusted look. "What can I say?" He bragged, "The ladies love me." 

  


"That's the bastard I know." Bronwyn scoffed, turning her head back to the sidewalk. She made a sharp turn, walking across the road, with Aiku close behind, even though he looked a little confused. 

  


"When I first came to this town, I saw the mall and it was that way." He whispered, pointing farther down the road. 

  


"I _know _that, I'm not a baka." She growled, nearing the edge of the forest. 

  


"HIEI!!!!" She screamed loudly. She had barely gotten the word out, though, when she heard his voice behind her. "What?" 

  


She turned around to face Hiei, who looked like he had been sleeping before she had woken him up. "Oh, yes, I need to do some shopping and need you to come with me." 

  


"Why do you need _me?_" He spoke, disgruntled. 

  


"For...for...well, I need someone to hold the clothes!!! Please?" 

  


"No. You have him." He pointed to Aiku, who was watching them both with interest. 

  


"He wouldn't leave me alone until I let him come. He'll be staying far away." She whispered angrily, shooting Aiku a small glare. "PLEASE????" She whined, turning her head back to Hiei. 

  


"I will no-." He stopped in mid-sentence when he noticed that Bronwyn was staring at him with her "I'm going to cry..." face. She even sniffed a few times for added effect. 

  


"Please?" She whispered delicately, her eyes growing big. 

  


"I will not be swayed by your tears!" Hiei growled, looking away furiously. Knowing that the puppy-dog face wasn't going to work today, Bronwyn immediately lost it and glared at Hiei angrily.

  


"You're going even if I have to drag you all the way there!!" 

  


Hiei only smirked at this comment. "I dare you to try." 

  


"Uh, excuse me, you two...." Aiku's cocky voice interrupted the pair, "But I think I can help this situation." Moving forward a step, he held up his right hand and waved the five fingers at the two. "I've had this special gift ever since I was a child. I don't know how I got it, and I've never shone it to anyone. But if it will help Bronwyn get her way...(He smiled at her, but only recieved a frown in return)....I'm willing to use it for once." 

  


"Aiku, don't lie, I know that yo-..." Bronwyn's angry voice trailed off, staring in disbelief at Aiku's hand. His fingers were...._glowing._ A bright blue light flickered over them, as if a flame had ignited. 

  


He reached forward swiftly, and ran his index finger softly over Hiei's arm, so gentle that Hiei almost didn't even feel it. But before he could even acknowledge the touch, he felt it once again on his other arm, and then on his legs. 

  


Aiku backed away, and he held his hand up once again, watching as the light seemed to grow fainter and fainter until it was nonexistent. 

  


"What did you do?" Hiei asked angrily, looking himself over, even though nothing seemed strange or different.

  


Aiku grinned. "Walk over here and I'll tell you." He said, beckoning for Hiei to take a step forward. 

  


Confused, Hiei began to lift his leg....

  


_Wait a minute, why can't I move my leg???_

  


He then proceeded to try and move his arms, but his limbs stayed perfectly still, no matter how hard he tried to move them. 

  


"Can't move, huh?" Aiku smirked, noticing Hiei's failed attempts.

  


"What did you do?" Hiei growled, glaring at Aiku as Bronwyn watched what was happening curiously. 

  


"That's my gift. The gift of paralyzation. All I have to do is touch you in a particular place, such as your arm, and that part of your body is paralyzed. It lasts for fifteen minutes." 

  


Bronwyn approached Hiei cautiously, still not really convinced that he was helpless. "You..really can't move?" She whispered.

  


Hiei didn't answer, but instead kept trying to move his arms and legs, still to no avail. Bronwyn just watched him for a moment, and then carefully raised her arm and placed her finger on his nose. After a moment of waiting to see if Hiei would do anything about it (Well, besides glaring at her), she began to laugh. 

  


"Cool." She giggled, starting to move her hand around his face, and finally ruffling his hair. After a moment of fooling around, she glanced back at Aiku. "You know, this is fun and everything, but how does he get to the mall when he can't even move?" 

  


Aiku grinned, and let out a small laugh. "You grab his left arm, and I'll get his right." He moved over to Hiei's side and took his arm. Taking cue from him, Bronwyn did the same, still laughing. 

  


"We're going to get some weird looks from people on the street, but at least we'll get him there." Aiku sighed, motioning for Bronwyn to begin pulling. She nodded, and they began on their way to the mall, dragging Hiei along with them, whose eyes were glowing with anger. 

  


"I will kill both of you when I can move my arms and legs again. STOP!!!" He screamed desperately, _still _trying to move. 

  


"Not a chance, Hiei, this is WAY too much fun." Bronwyn giggled....

  


****

  


"Okay, I'm looking for something casual but dressy, wild but conservative, different but hip...what do you guys think?" Bronwyn turned her head to look at Aiku and Hiei, who had meanwhile regained the use of his limbs but after a threat of being paralyzed by Aiku again and another threat from Bronwyn that she would never speak to him again if he left, he had decided that he would stay for a few minutes. Both looked very confused by what she had just said. 

  


They were all in Senyuki, a fashion boutique, sifting through outfits. Well, actually, _Bronwyn, _was sifting through outfits while Aiku and Hiei were leaning against the wall, both thinking the same thing. How unbearably boring this was....

  


"Hello, I'm talking to you!" She scolded, waving a hand in front of their faces angrily. "What do you think of these?" She held up two different outfits eagerly. One was a long-sleeved white shirt with beige capris, the other was a low-cut sparkly black dressy shirt with denim jeans. 

  


"I like that one." Aiku snickered, pointing to the black shirt with the jeans. "It will show off that figure of yours better. 

  


"Don't make me slap you." Bronwyn growled, glancing at both of the outfits curiously. She sighed. "I guess I'll have to try on both. Hold on a second." She disappeared into the dressing room for a minute and then came back out wearing the first outfit. 

  


"Well?" She said, spinning around for them to see. "What do you think?" 

  


"Good." Aiku sighed, looking away.

  


"Fine." Hiei whispered, not even looking at all. 

  


She glared at the both of them. "Thanks for such informative opinions!!" She snarled sarcastically, looking down at herself. 

  


"I don't know...I guess it's okay..." She went back into the dressing room once again, coming back out wearing the second outfit, the one which Aiku was much more interested in. 

  


"Looks great. Get that one." He said happily, receiving an angry glare from Bronwyn. "I think I'll get both..." She whispered airily, and entered the dressing room once again, returning with her regular clothes on. She thrust the two outfits into Hiei's hands. "Hold these, will you?" 

  


Without waiting for him to respond, she sprinted off again, returning with twice as many outfits as before. "They're my size, so I don't really see the need to try them on." She whispered, adding them to the growing pile of clothes in Hiei's hands. 

  


"I thought that you didn't care what you wore." He growled, staring angrily at the bundle of outfits he was holding.

"Well, I don't, but I didn't know how much fun shopping could be!!" She chirped, disappearing back into the racks of clothes once again. 

  


"Wow, talk about a downside to having a girlfriend, huh?" Aiku whispered playfully, staring at the growing pile of clothes. 

  


Hiei, having not really heard Aiku's comment, smirked as he imagined burning the clothes into charred pieces of crisp black cloth, and then setting the evil store on fire, and watching it burn, burn to the ground, and hearing the ningens cry out in pain as their bodies were reduced to piles of ashes...

  


"Hiei? HIEI!!!" Bronwyn was waving a hand in front of his face anxiously, staring at him with a worried look. "Oh no, you're wearing that "I want to set everything on fire" look again. Don't even think about it!!" She shook a scolding finger in front of his face for a second, and then motioned for him to follow her over to the cash register. 

  


While the cashier rang up the many outfits Bronwyn had decided to purchase, a high-pitched voice calling her name startled her. She turned her head to see a certain blue-haired girl waving happily at her. 

  


"Didn't think I'd see you here." She said, smiling brightly. Bronwyn smiled also. 

  


"Hey Botan. What are you doing here?" 

  


"Hey, just because I'm not from this world doesn't mean I can't shop does it?" She whispered playfully, glancing at Hiei, now holding three shopping bags, and wearing a look of pure hatred. 

  


"Oh, stop with the look, already, I'll carry them!!" Bronwyn cried angrily, noticing Hiei's glare. 

  


Botan glanced down curiously at the shopping bags. "You're buying all of that?" She asked with a tone of surprise.

  


Bronwyn sighed heavily. "What is the problem with all of you about my shopping? I'm still a female, for heaven's sake!!" 

  


But Botan hadn't listened to the explanation. Immediately after she had made the comment, she had noticed the raven-haired boy standing beside Hiei. She couldn't help notice that he was very cute....

  


Noticing Botan's gaze upon him, Aiku smiled, taking a step forward. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Aiku." 

  


"Uh...I...I..." Botan stammered, suddenly finding herself at a loss for words. Instead, she waved meekly, her cheeks a light red color. Aiku's smile spread into a grin and he waved back in the same fashion as she had. 

  


"Hey guys, what's going on?" Another male voice said boldly, appearing behind the group. 

  


"I thought you had school today, Yusuke." Bronwyn said, staring at him with a confused look on her face. 

  


"Well, I decided that I didn't really feel like it today, so here I am." He yawned, stretching his arms out. 

  


At this moment of confusion, Botan grabbed Bronwyn's arm and dragged her away from the men, wearing a flushed look. 

  


"Why did you do that?" Bronwyn snarled angrily at Botan, who was beginning to cut off the circulation to her arm in her tight grasp. 

  


"Who is that?" Botan whispered, gesturing over to Aiku, who was looking out the glass window of the store. 

  


"Oh, that's Aiku. He and I used to date. Why do you ask?" 

  


"Well....he's very handsome...." 

  


"WHAT??? YOU LIKE HIM??? WHY DOES EVERYBODY LIKE HIM, HE'S A RAT!!" Bronwyn screamed quietly, glaring at Botan, who seemed confused by her name for him. 

  


"He seems so nice..."

  


"Well, he's not!! He's just covering up his true personality so he can get you guys to like him!!" Bronwyn ranted, and had planned to go on until she noticed Botan gazing longingly at Aiku, who seemed to be oblivious to the attention he was getting. She sighed heavily. She had felt the same way the first time she had seen Aiku. He was quite the looker. 

  


"If you're thinking of getting with him, by all means, go for it. But I warn you, he's not who he seems." She said in a low voice. Botan seemed to snap out of her daze after hearing these words and glanced back at Bronwyn.

  


"You don't mind?" 

  


"Do I mind? DO I MIND??" She laughed, confusing Botan even further. "Of course I don't mind!! Go right ahead, I encourage you. I just think that you need to be careful." She said, shoving Botan towards him. "Now go talk to him!!"

  


Botan stood still for a moment, growing redder by the minute, and then took a step back. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea...." She whispered nervously. 

  


"GO ALREADY!!!" 

  


"Okay, okay..." Botan took two steps forward this time, but hesitated before the third one. 

  


"WE'RE ALL GOING TO BE DEAD AND BURIED BEFORE YOU CAN EVEN GET OVER THERE!!!" 

  


"Stop, I'm trying!!" Botan said, waving a hand at Bronwyn. Taking a deep breath, she strolled over to Aiku, who smiled when he noticed her approaching. 

  


Bronwyn watched as they began to talk, slow and awkward at first, but then becoming smoother and faster. She also noticed that Botan was a few shades of red lighter than before, and seemed to be enjoying herself. Smiling, Bronwyn made her way back over to Hiei and Yusuke....

  


"So, carrying your girlfriend's bags for her, huh? Quite the gentleman she's turning you into." Yusuke joked, and promptly received a death glare from Hiei, who was starting to drift back to his daydreams of burning the idiotic building down, and listening to the agonizing screams....

  


"You know, Hiei, I can see what you're thinking about. So stop with the fire fantasies already!!" Bronwyn said, her jagan eye beginning to faintly glow underneath her bangs.

  


"This building needs to be destroyed." He mumbled, not loud enough for her to hear, though. 

  


"Who's the guy that Botan's talking to?" Yusuke asked, gesturing at Aiku and Botan, who were laughing about something.

  


"Aiku. Old boyfriend." She said simply. 

  


"Cool guy. We talked for a minute." A grin slowly spread over Yusuke's face as he glanced at Hiei and then back at Bronwyn. "Did you guys really drag Hiei all the way here?" 

  


"It was fun." She laughed, not seeming to notice that Hiei was growling at her. Yusuke's grin grew bigger, and was slowly turning into a evil smirk. 

  


"Do you think he might be willing to do it again? We could have some fun with a helpless Hiei..." He laughed, glancing at Hiei again, who was starting to back away from them. 

  


"Stay away from me." He growled quietly, reaching for his sword. Bronwyn began to laugh once again, and motioned Hiei to come back over to her and Yusuke. 

  


"We're not _that _evil." She giggled, even though Yusuke looked disappointed with her answer. "I need to go home anyway. I have a new wardrobe!" She said excitedly, motioning at the bags that Hiei was still holding, though with contempt. A look of surprise grew on Yusuke's face as he glanced down at the three shopping bags. 

  


"You're buying all that?" He said, in the same surprised tone that Botan had used when she had asked. Bronwyn stared blankly at Yusuke for a second and then threw her arms up in anger. 

  


"AARGH!!! I CAN BUY CLOTHES IF I WANT!!!" She screamed furiously, and stormed out of the store. Botan and Aiku, taking a break from their conversation, noticed her dramatic exit and ran over to Yusuke and Hiei. "What did you do?" Aiku asked curiously, glancing back for a second to watch Bronwyn disappear out of view. 

  


"I don't...really know..." Yusuke said quietly, scratching his head... 

  


*********

  


"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, you can buy clothes if you want, just stop glaring at me...."

  


The group of five was walking on the sidewalk from the mall, heading in the direction of Kurama's house, and Bronwyn had been shooting looks of hatred at Yusuke for his comment ever since they had left the boutique. 

  


"Hey guys!!" A deep voice called farther down the road. As the object came into focus, you could see that it was Kuwabara, running towards them, wearing a grin. When he finally came to a halt right in front of the group, he began to breathe heavily, obviously winded from his sprint.

  


"School's out already?" Botan asked, confused. Sure enough, after a few more minutes had passed, small clusters of students in uniforms began to pass, talking amongst themselves happily. They smiled at the group, even though most girls seemed more interested in Aiku then anybody else, shooting flirtatious looks at him as they walked by, ones which he returned graciously. 

  


"So what have you guys been-URAMESHI!!" Kuwabara's smile disappeared immediately as he noticed for the first time that Yusuke was with the group. 

  


"Boy, Urameshi, you should of seen Mr. Iwamoto's face when he saw that you weren't in class today. You missed that huge history exam!!!" 

  


"Oh, shit, that was today?? I thought it was tomorrow!" Yusuke groaned, smacking himself on the head. He glanced around for a second worriedly. "Where's Keiko?" 

  


"Ooh, if you thought _Mr. Iwamoto _was mad...." 

  


"YUSUKE!!!!" 

  


He winced at the high-pitched scream approaching on the sidewalk. Keiko stormed up, wearing a positively furious expression. 

  


"You missed probably the most important test we will ever take in school this year!!! How do you expect to go to college if you keep on like this?" She growled, her eyes glaring at Yusuke angrily. 

  


"Okay, okay, I'm sorry Keiko. If I had known the test was today, I would of shown up, honest!!!" He said, raising a hand to shield himself for the attack that he knew was approaching swiftly. 

  


"Sure you would." She whispered sarcastically, turning away. 

  


"Hey, who are you?" Kuwabara asked, directing the question at Aiku, who was smiling at a blond-haired student passing. 

  


"Oh, I'm Aiku." 

  


"Don't ask." Bronwyn grumbled angrily, wanting not to explain it again.

  


"Well, anyways, I think I did good on the exam!!" He exclaimed joyously. 

  


"Yeah, Kuwabara, maybe you'll actually get a double digit grade for once!!" Yusuke chirped mockingly, and it was followed by chuckles from the group. Kuwabara's euphoric look quickly turned angry as he glared at Yusuke. 

  


"That's not funny, Urameshi, like you could do any better!!" 

  


"I bet I could have..." 

  


"Well, we could stand here and listen to the both of you bicker all day," Bronwyn interrupted, "But some of us have things to do. I must deposit my shopping bags." 

  


"What shopping bags?" Kuwabara asked, noticing that Bronwyn's hands were empty. His gaze drifted over to Hiei, who was _still _carrying them, even though he looked like he was yearning to maim someone. He broke out in laughter at the sight. 

  


"Bought some nice clothes, did you, Hiei? Good thing, that cloak is getting old....dirty too." 

  


"Lay off, Kuwabara, they're mine." Bronwyn scolded sternly. "Come on Hiei." 

  


The two began to walk away, leaving Kuwabara watched them with a look of pure surprise. 

  


"Since when does the shrimp take orders from Bronwyn?" 

  


Yusuke shrugged at the question. "Don't ask me. Women have this mystical power over men. It's unexplainable, but you do what they say usually." 

  


"YUSUKE!!!" Keiko's frustrated scream floated over to him, as she tapped her foot on the sidewalk impatiently. "Are you coming or not?" 

  


"Allow me to demonstrate." He whispered, and ran over to the brown-haired girl. As Kuwabara watched them walk away, he glanced back at the two remaining people, Botan and Aiku. 

  


"Do you live nearby, Botan?" Aiku asked her curiously, and watched as a nervous expression began to grow on her face.

  


"Well, actually...I...don't live in this town." 

  


"You don't? Then where do you live??" 

  


"Uh...um...far, far, away. I'm just here for a little while." 

  


"Then where are you staying?" 

  


Uh, erm....would you look at the time? I've gotta get going!!! Well, I'll see you later, Aiku!! Bye, Kuwabara!!" She waved hurriedly, and ran off before he could question her any further. 

  


Shrugging, Aiku glanced back at Kuwabara. "Well, I guess I'll go back to Kurama's also. See if I can help at all." 

  


At that very second, a gorgeous blond wandered past, smiling flirtatiously at Aiku. She giggled lightly as he smiled back. 

  


"Or...maybe I'll go chat with her for a minute. Nice to meet you, Kuwabara." He waved a hurried good-bye to the carrot-top, sprinting down the road to catch up with the beautiful woman. 

  


Kuwabara watched him go, and then glanced back at the now empty space where the group had been standing just a few minutes before. Shaking his head, he began to trudge to his own home....

  


_Why do I have such weirdo friends???_

  


_******_

  


_November 1_

  


_I do not just hate Aiku, I LOATHE him. Deeply. _

  


_He's just so annoying. I mean, I can just tell that he's being this nice because he wants my friends to accept him. But that's not the problem. _

  


_The problem is that I....I'm starting to like him. As a friend. He's just so nice, it's impossible to think that this was the same person that I knew three years ago. _

  


_After he threw me out onto the street, I swore that I would have my revenge on him. Sometime or another. But now....I just don't want it that badly anymore. _

  


_It might be hard to swallow, but maybe he really wasn't himself that night......maybe he has changed....._

  


_I still hate him. But at the same time.....he's good company. _

  


_*Bronwyn* _

  


_*********_

  


Hehehehehe....Bronwyn sure had a fun day, getting to torture Hiei and all....who knew that she even had a "puppy-dog" face??? 

  


Okay, I have a ton of ideas, but I wasn't planning on using them until later. I have the last couple of chapters already completely thought about, but I'm in DESPERATE need of ideas for the next chapter. 

  


Oh, also, our internet is getting cut off on Monday!!! Noooooooooooooo!!! So, nothing from me until we get it back!!! 

  


Pleaaaassssseee send ideas. And reviews!! Heck, send both!!!! 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. Chapter Four: Shiori's Return

*kimpfn is dancing around crazily, singing a very strange tune....*

  


I just got my YYH manga, I just got my YYH manga, I just got my YYH manga, I just got my YYH manga, and I read it in thirty minutes and I'm gonna read it again, and again, and agains and again, and again, and again.

  


And I just won a YYH doujinshi off ebay!!! It was, like, one of the only non-yaoi doujinshi there....*shivers* have you ever SEEN some of those pictures from those Yaoi doujinshis they show on that sight....there was one of Kurama licking Hiei's jagan...I'm permanently scarred for life with that image... 

  


*Moans* Oh, the pain...it was just so...NASTY looking....Ewww.....

  


No offence to anyone who likes that stuff, the pictures just kind of...disturb me...

  


HELLO!!! It is currently one in the morning here in Texas, and I'm awake and happy, and I have decided to get my lazy butt up and start writing this chapter....

  


Disclaimer: I do not own YYH, I do own Bronwyn and Aiku blah blah blah blah blah...

  


IMP. NOTE: The diary entry was actually for the end of this chapter, so don't get confused, because I'm still on the same day as last chapter, okay???? 

  


****************************************************************************

  


"Will you hand me that gray jacket, Hiei?" Bronwyn asked quite politely, the plastic hanger already gripped tightly in her hands, ready for the article of clothing to be hanged upon it. 

  


Grumbling under his breath, Hiei reached into the silver shopping bag and pulled out a thin flannel overcoat, and threw it over to her. Not prepared for the toss, Bronwyn stumbled back a step and managed to grasp it with her one free hand.

  


"Well, I kind of was expecting you to just hand it to me, but if that's too much work for you...." Bronwyn whispered in a playful tone, smiling slightly as she slid the coat onto the thin sides of the hangar and placing the hook on the rack inside the closet door. 

  


With that done, she moved over to her dresser drawer, and turned her head towards Hiei once more. 

  


"Now, will you get that pair of black pants?" 

  


"I'm not your servant." Hiei informed her coldly, though still obeying her command, grabbing the denim material of the clothing and launching it at her. Bronwyn turned around only to get hit in the face with it, causing her to fall to the floor. 

  


"What was that for? Don't you _like _being my servant?" She cooed, picking herself up and placing the jeans in the wooden door neatly. 

  


"No." Was his simple answer. 

  


"Well, then you must not know the rituals between a boyfriend and a girlfriend. You see, the boyfriend is expected to do whatever the girlfriend asks him to do, without so much as an argument." She smirked, "and in some situations, the boyfriend waits on the girlfriend's every need." 

  


Hiei frowned. These 'rituals' didn't sound very pleasant for him. 

  


"Will you bring that empty shopping bag over here so you can throw it away?" The red-head gestured him over to the other side of the room, still wearing an evil-looking smile, obviously having enjoyed explaining the rules to him. 

  


Picking up the shopping bag by the thin handle, a disgruntled Hiei made his way over to the trash can, when his foot caught on an misplaced article of clothing that was laying on the floor. Not expecting the sudden roadblock, the snag caused him to fall forwards, but since he had been walking in a diagonal fashion, he ended up on the bed, the shopping bed having been dropped. 

  


"Is that, like, the first time you've ever tripped?" Bronwyn laughed, watching him struggle to sit up as she grabbed the bag from the floor and disposed of it by pushing it down into the trash can. 

  


"Yes." 

  


"Do you ever answer a question with more than one word?" 

  


"Hn." 

  


"I'm going to take that as a 'no'...." 

  


"Fine." 

  


"What is with your vocabulary? It sure doesn't seem like it's very big...." 

  


Hiei chose to stop responding at this point in the conversation. Bronwyn just stared at him for a second, her eyes glowing mischievously, and before he knew what had happened, she had jumped on top of him. 

  


"Well, I guess you won't have to speak any more." She whispered, now sitting on his chest. Leaning down, she let her hair dangle in his face, still smiling happily. 

  


Hiei smirked. "I don't think so." 

  


"Wow, four words! That must be like a record or something, huh???" 

  


She kissed him for a few seconds and then broke away, grinning now. "I should write it down. Hiei actually said FOUR words!!! In the same sentence!!!! Call everybody!! Alert the media!!!" Bronwyn was clearly enjoying making fun of Hiei, though he didn't seem to mind it too much.

  


Putting his hand on her neck, they began to kiss again....

  


"Whoa!!!" 

  


Bronwyn groaned inwardly. _Why does it seem like every damn time we get a moment alone, there always has to be SOMEBODY interrupting???_

  


They both broke away again, and glanced towards the doorway to see Aiku, who was wearing a shocked expression.

  


"You know, you really should warn people before you do that, because poor, unsuspecting, innocent civilians like me can just wander in here and stumble upon you!!" He informed them coyly. 

  


"Whatever, just leave, Aiku." Bronwyn growled, clearly wanting him out as soon as possible. 

  


"Fine. I guess I'll just stay downstairs for a while, wondering what the hell you're doing up here...." 

  


"GET OUT!!!!!" 

  


He was gone in a matter of seconds, since Bronwyn can sound pretty scary when she feels the need to. 

  


Turning her head from the doorway back to Hiei, she just stared at him for a moment, and then the smile slowly began to return. 

  


"Okay, I'm going to ask you two questions, and you're going to have to be completely truthful about them, okay?" She asked curiously. 

  


Even though a little confused, Hiei nodded.

  


"Okay, number one, are you a virgin????" 

  


Silence.

  


"Maybe." 

  


"MAYBE??? That's a no in disguise! How many people????" 

  


"I lost count somewhere around thirty." 

  


"HIEI!!!!"

  


Hiei smirked. It was fun to mess with her. 

  


"One." 

  


Bronwyn was silent for a second, but then sighed and leaned forward more, placing her elbows gently on his upper torso. 

  


"Was she nicer-looking than me?" She asked airily, though the question seemed to hold a lot of importance to her. 

  


Hiei thought about it for a second....

  


"No." 

  


Bronwyn smiled. "Good answer." 

  


They were both silent for a few minutes, and then Bronwyn seemed to remember that she had another question to ask...

  


"Oh yeah, and question two...." 

  


She paused before finishing her sentence, a huge grin spreading across her face. 

  


"Are you ticklish?" 

  


***

  


_I wonder what IS going on up there...._

  


Aiku glanced up the stairway again curiously, as if wanting to venture up there, but he knew that Bronwyn would kick his ass if he did. 

  


_She looked pretty pissed-off....I always liked that about her...How she can scare people with that death look she gives...._

  


The loud ringing of the telephone caused the raven-haired male to snap out of his thoughts and glance over towards the kitchen area, where he could see the midnight-black phone jangling on its hook. 

  


_Uh....should I...answer it....? _

  


He allowed the phone's annoying clanging to echo through the house for a few seconds more, and then decided that he should at least take a message for Kurama. Jumping up off the couch, he picked up the metal device moments before it came to a halt.

  


"Uh....Hello??" He said warily, the receiver pushed up delicately against his ear.

  


"Who is this?" A kind woman's voice asked curiously, obviously not recognizing him. 

  


"Uh, this is Aiku, a friend of Kurama's. Can I take a message for him??"

  


"Kurama? Such a strange name...I must of dialed the wrong number...well, I'm trying to contact my son, Shuichi..." 

  


"Well, sorry, lady, but there isn't anyone named Shuichi here, so you better try calling somewhere else." Aiku was starting to get a little agitated. 

  


"Well, do you know who my son is, young man?? Is there any way you could tell him that Shiori called???"

  


"Listen, whoever you are, I DON'T KNOW ANYONE BY THAT NAME!!!! GOODBYE!!" With that said, Aiku slammed the phone back into its cradle angrily. 

  


_God, she was annoying...._

  


The front door suddenly opened abruptly, and a gust of fresh wind blew into the house, along with a bright ray of sunlight. As it closed, Aiku could see that it was Kurama, finally home from school, dressed in his uniform, his book bag still clenched in his hand. 

  


"Hello. Had a nice day?" He asked Aiku brightly, seeming to be in a very good mood as he laid the book bag on the white kitchen counter.

  


"Well, yeah, until some weird woman called. I think she was psycho." He grumbled, laying back down on couch. 

  


"Hmm...." Kurama commented disinterestedly, grabbing a cup from the cupboard and making his way over to the sink faucet. "Did you get their name?"

  


"Yeah, she was some chick named Shiori." 

  


The cup fell from Kurama's hand, clattering onto the tile floor. Aiku glanced towards the kitchen area curiously, wondering why the crimson-haired male had let it drop.

  


"Did..did you say Shiori??" He asked, the color beginning to drain out out his face, giving himself a pale complexion. 

  


Aiku just watched for a second and then nodded slightly. "Yeah...what do you care???" 

  


Kurama stared into his eyes for a second, dumbfounded, and then practically teleported over to the phone. Ripping it off the handle, he punched the numbers in frantically, while Aiku rose from the chair, now confused by Kurama's strange behavior. 

  


"Kurama, what is it?"

  


The kitsune didn't answer, instead concentrating on pushing the right buttons. When he had completed the number, he held the receiver up to his ear nervously.

  


"Hello?" 

  


"Yes, mother?" 

  


"_YOU'RE _Shuichi???" Aiku gaped, but grew silent when Kurama raised a single finger to his mouth, signaling for him to shut up. 

  


"Dear, who was that who answered the phone before?"

  


"Um....it was just one of the neighbor kids. He probably snuck into the house while I was at school and decided to play a prank on whoever was calling." Kurama was surprised with how quickly he could think up a lie on such short notice. "You know how they can sometimes be a little annoying..."

  


"HEY!!!"

  


The finger went up to Kurama's mouth again, though a little more firmly than before. Wearing a furious expression, Aiku slunk back into the couch. 

  


"So, how did your new job go, mother?" He struggled to move the conversation elsewhere. 

  


Shiori sighed. "Well, dear, I just don't think it's the one for me. And besides, I miss you so much, it's hard for me to concentrate. So, I think I'll be returning home and look for another job around the neighborhood." 

  


"You mean...you're coming back??" Kurama felt himself getting a little weak in the knees. How was he going to explain that the household was now holding an additional two people??

  


"Yes, dear, today." 

  


"Today?!?!?!" 

  


Shiori sensed the worry in her son's voice straight away. "Is something wrong, Shuichi?"

  


Kurama took a deep breath before answering, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible. "No, not at all, mother. I've missed you as well. I'm looking forward to seeing you. What time do you think you'll be here?"

  


"Oh, in a few hours." 

  


"I'll be waiting." 

  


"Oh, yes, and before I go...."

  


"Yes, mother?"

  


"Dear, who is Kurama?" 

  


Kurama took a break from his phone conversation to glance over at Aiku, wearing a look that clearly said 'you IDIOT!'. 

  


"I don't know, mother, but I would suspect that it would just have to be a made-up name." 

  


"Okay, I'll see you soon."

  


"Oh, yes, one more thing." 

  


"Yes, dear?"

  


He hesitated for a moment before continuing. "I have a few....surprises for you. Two, to be exact." 

  


"That's wonderful, dear. I'll see them when I get home. Good-bye, Shuichi." 

  


"Ja ne." 

  


Kurama placed the the phone back down, oblivious to the fact that his hands were shaking.

  


"What was that all about?" Aiku growled, glaring at the red-head angrily. 

  


He sighed, making his way into the living room and sinking into an armchair. "Listen, when my mother returns, you must call me Shuichi around her. Nothing else. And NEVER Kurama." 

  


"Why is that?" 

  


"It's...a little difficult to explain. I just need you to, okay?" 

  


Though greatly confused, the black-haired teenager nodded. 

  


Everything was quiet for a few moments. Kurama glanced around a few times, obviously looking for something. Or someone. 

  


"Aiku, where is Bronwyn?" 

  


Aiku raised his arm and pointed a finger at the stairwell. "With Hiei." 

  


"What are they doing?" 

  


He just stared at Kurama for a moment, and then shook his head roughly. "I don't wanna know..." 

  


Kurama glanced from him to the stairway once more, and then sighed, rising from his comfortable seat. " I probably should go ruin their fun, then. If my mother stumbled upon them, I fear that she would have a heart attack." 

  


The auburn-haired teenager then began to climb the stairs, leaving Aiku alone in the living room. On his journey, he heard a happy screech, and then Bronwyn's voice....

  


"AHA!! I knew you were ticklish!!!" 

  


_What ARE they doing??? _Pressured by this unanswered question, Kurama quickened his pace until he had reached the top step, and then made his way down the hallway, finally reaching Bronwyn's door. 

  


Grasping the doorknob, he pushed open the door, only to see Bronwyn running her fingers gently over Hiei's neck, laughing to herself as she tried to get the fire demon to smile. 

  


"C'mon, you know you want to laugh, you're just too damn stubborn..." She urged him. Hiei still wore his emotionless face, but the faintest traces of a smile were beginning to creep up on him. 

  


"Guys..."

  


"I'm not going to laugh." Hiei explained simply, though he now wore a smirk that was resembling a smile. 

  


"Ooh, five words!!! Going to have to put that one in the record book!!" 

  


"_Guys...."_

  


"Maybe I could try your feet, that's where people are most ticklish." Bronwyn suggested, already starting to reach for his leg.

  


"GUYS!!!!!"

  


Both glanced towards the door, noticing for the first time that Kurama was even standing there. 

  


"Kurama? When did you get here??" Bronwyn asked in a surprised tone, brushing a loose strand of hair away from her face.

  


"Sorry to interrupt, but we have a situation." He explained simply. 

  


"What are you talking about, fox?" Hiei asked, disgruntled. 

  


"My mother's coming back." 

  


Silence. 

  


"You have a mom?" Bronwyn asked incredulously, jumping off of Hiei, allowing him to sit up. 

  


"Yes, and she knows nothing about you or Aiku, so this is a little bit of a problem." Kurama crossed his arms, wearing an expression of mixed nervousness and worry. 

  


"But...you're...a demon....and...she's like..not...or is she?" 

  


Kurama sighed heavily. "No, she's not." 

  


"Then how..."

  


"Long story." The kitsune didn't really want to explain about his past life at this particular moment. 

  


"Well, okay, your mom's coming home. What does that have to do with me?" Bronwyn asked, confused by why Kurama had entered her bedroom just to deliver that piece of information.

  


*****

  


"Go to hell, Kurama. GO TO HELL." 

  


Her hair tied back into a messy pony-tail, Bronwyn called Kurama a million horrible names under her breath as she scrubbed the kitchen floor sparkling clean with a large yellow sponge as the red-head looked on. 

  


"If you're interested in remaining here, then you're going to help me prepare the home for my mother. Since you've been here, the house has gotten considerably dirty." He firmly informed her, beginning to clear assorted articles of paper and other items off the counter. 

  


"Hey, you prissy fox, don't blame this whole thing on me!!" 

  


"Oh? And why not?" He glanced over his shoulder at her. "Remember the pita pocket incident??" 

  


"Oh, you just _had _to bring that up, didn't you?" 

  


"Well, since you DID manage to blow it up, and get pepperoni and cheese all over the kitchen, then yes, I would say that I do have to bring it up." 

  


"Hey, I never used a microwave before, how was I supposed to know that if things get too hot, they blow up??? Besides, we managed to clean it all up, didn't we???" 

  


"After almost a week, yes. And we still didn't get all of the cheese off the refrigerator." He gestured over to the white machine. 

  


Not being able to come up with a good reply, Bronwyn decided to just pretend that Kurama had dropped out of existence and concentrated all of her efforts on getting a black marker smudge off the tile. 

  


Kurama noticed her sudden silence and smiled slightly as he grabbed a cloth rag and began to wipe the counter top. She had been upset with him ever since he had kicked Hiei out of the house. Well, more like out the _window. _

  


"Okay, I can see why Bronwyn has to clean, since she's living here permanently, but why do _I _have to????" Aiku whined, plugging the plug from the vacuum into the socket. 

  


Kurama didn't answer, instead glancing at the antique clock that was situated on the coffee table in the center of the living room. The thin, black finger pointed to the four. 

  


"Bronwyn, are you almost finished?? I was wanting to mop the floor." 

  


"Yes, all-powerful master." Bronwyn droned spitefully, rising from her knees to a standing position and tossing the sponge carelessly behind her.

  


"Not a bad job for someone who's never cleaned for a day in her entire lifetime." She said, observing her work.

  


Kurama disappeared down the hallway for a split-second, returning almost immediately with a mop and a blue bucket. Filling the bucket up with water from the faucet, he began to clean the floor, as Bronwyn moved out of his way.

  


Everything was quiet for a moment, expect for the whir of the Aiku's vacuum, until Kurama stopped his movements momentarily and glanced back at Bronwyn. 

  


"What are you doing??? You need to change. And brush your hair as well, okay??" He said frantically. 

  


Bronwyn was about to object, but Kurama's pleading look stopped her. Grumbling a low 'fine' she stalked upstairs, stomping on every step extra loud.

  


As she ventured into her closet, she picked out a pair of denim jeans and a white t-shirt. Changing into the other outfit, she moved in front of the full-length mirror to examine her reflection.

  


_Good enough..._She thought to herself, completing a rotation so she could examine herself at all angles. 

  


Her mind was beginning to wander elsewhere, though, like to why Kurama never mentioned having a mother before. 

  


_I thought he was a demon...then...how can she be a human....this is making my head hurt...._

  


It was just really confusing to Bronwyn. Sighing, she grabbed the brush off the bedside table and began to run it through her crimson hair carefully. 

  


_Well, if she is a human, she still must know about the Makai world, and stuff like that, right??? _

  


Seeing that her job of cleaning herself up was finished, she carelessly threw her brush onto the bed, and exited the room, running down the stairs and rejoining the two men downstairs.

  


Kurama still wore the what-seemed-to-be-permanent panicked expression, as he bustled around the living room, making sure everything was in place.

  


"God, you must really want to impress this woman, huh?" Bronwyn smirked, watching the male with amusement. 

  


He didn't answer, instead straightening a painting of a shimmering lake that was hanging on the wall. Bronwyn just shrugged, and then began to walk towards the kitchen.

  


"Stop!" 

  


Kurama was now staring at her. "Bronwyn, will you please get some socks on if you're going in there? I just finished mopping." 

  


Grumbling, Bronwyn briefly visited the laundry room just long enough to grab a pair of white cotton socks. Pulling them onto her feet as she made her way back to the kitchen, she practically slipped on the slick surface as she tried to reach the refrigerator.

  


"Be careful. I also mopped the entrance hallway." Kurama informed her, wiping a bead of sweat off his forehead. 

  


The sound of a car's engine outside alerted all three to the window. Journeying to over to the glass pane, they all laid eyes on a sleek black car as it came to a halt right outside the home. The driver side door flew open and a dignified-looking woman with midnight-black hair that draped past her shoulders rose from the car, smiling brightly as she glanced at the house. 

  


"Is that her?" Bronwyn whispered, as if her loud voice would catch the woman's attention. 

  


Kurama nodded. "Would you mind grabbing me that glass of water from the kitchen?" He asked politely, a sudden parched sensation in his throat coming over him.

  


"Sure." She left the two boys at the window, almost losing her balance once again on her way. 

  


Shiori made her way quickly up the concrete stairs leading up to the door, fumbling with the keys to the door. 

  


Sliding them into the golden key-slot, she pushed open the door, only to see Kurama and another boy she didn't recognize standing there, both wearing nervous expressions.

  


"It's so good to see you again, dear." She said warmly, embracing her son gently. He returned the hug, his worry beginning to drift away. Maybe things would work out fine after all. 

  


As she loosened her hold on his figure, her gaze flitted over to Aiku, who was watching both of them, his hands shoved into his pants pockets. 

  


"And who is this handsome young gentleman?" She asked, smiling at the stranger. 

  


Before the adolescent could answer, a small scream was heard, and then Bronwyn slid out from the kitchen area, struggling to keep her balance, the glass of water clutched in her hand. She turned towards the front door and managed to take a step before on her shaky feet, but instead, the floor slid out from under her, and trying to keep herself upright, she had to run forward.

  


Now unable to stop her growing speed, and powerless to halt, she let out a warning...

  


"LOOK OUT!" 

  


Kurama and Aiku both instinctively dodged the sliding girl, and the red-headed male watched with shock as the auburn-haired female crashed straight into Shiori, causing both of them to collapse to the floor...

  


******************************************************************************

  


I was going to write more, but I really wanted to get this chapter out now, because it's been a really long time since I've had a chapter up. 

  


I've got a really funny conversation coming up, though, between Shiori and Kurama, Aiku, and Bronwyn. Remember, Bronwyn thinks that Shiori knows all about demons and stuff like that???

Oh, and if you're still confused about where Shiori was, it'll be explained more in the new chapter. 

  


REVIEW PLEASE!!!

  
  
  
  
  



	5. Chapter Five: The Forgotten Scar

I'm really, REALLY sorry that I took so long with that last chapter, I just had a shortage of ideas for a while, but now I'm feeling better. And for people who like my stories (How many is that, like, three???) I'm going to have some new ones coming out soon enough. I won't forget my "MI" series, though. I PROMISE!!!!! 

  


Disclaimer: I wish that I owned Kurama, oh god, I do, but sadly, I don't. The only people I own are Bronwyn and Aiku. I also own the picture that makes Kurama look like a stripper^_^

  


*****************************************************************************

  


Kurama's bright green eyes flickered with shock as he watched the event that was unfolding right in front of him. Bronwyn and Shiori were struggling on the floor, both trying to sit up, though failing miserably as they remained in a tangled heap on the slick tile floor. 

  


Aiku, on the other hand, was quietly laughing, though trying not to show it too much, instead wearing a small half-smile as he watched the two females' predicament. 

  


"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!!!!" Bronwyn kept whispering apologetically over and over again, trying with all of her might to pull herself off of the middle-aged woman, but it was nearly impossible, since the cool surface of the ground was still causing her to slip over and over again. 

  


Finally snapping out of his alarmed daze, Kurama rushed forward and grabbed both of Bronwyn's arms roughly, dragging her off of his mother. He then ran to help Shiori up, acting as a pole which she could grab to pull herself to her feet. 

  


"Thank-you, Shuichi." She whispered, looking to be a bit frazzled as she brushed herself off. 

  


"Shuichi? Who is that?" Bronwyn leaned over to Aiku's ear, having gotten to her feet.

  


"Didn't Kurama tell you? You have to call him Shuichi around his mom." He whispered back. 

  


"Why?!?!"

  


The male just shrugged. "Got me." 

  


"Are you okay, mother?" Kurama asked worriedly, looking her over carefully to make sure nothing was wrong. Shiori just waved his look away, though.

  


"I'm fine, dear, don't worry." She said warmly, her eyes drifting over the two unfamiliar people standing cautiously a few feet away. 

  


"And who is your slightly clumsy friend?" She asked, wearing a slight smile as she stared at Bronwyn, whose cheeks were flushed, probably the cause of embarrassment for her clumsiness. 

  


"Oh, mother, this is Bronwyn." 

  


The women just stared the crimson-haired girl for a moment, her eyes twinkling with a mischievous light. Bronwyn returned the look, though wearing a confused expression. 

  


"May I ask who she is? Your girlfriend, perhaps?" Shiori questioned her son innocently. Both red-heads glanced at one another alarmingly and then shook their heads simultaneously. 

  


"No, no, no, no, no...." Each repeated in rhythm over and over again, obviously not liking the mental visual it provided. 

  


"Uh, what there trying to say in their own special way is that, no, they are not together." Aiku decided to step in at that point and explain the situation a little more simply, since Shiori was now looking quite confused with the two adolescents. 

  


"Well then, may I ask why you are here?" She asked kindly, waiting patiently for an answer, though no one looked too eager to present one. 

  


"Well, um...Bronwyn, why don't you explain that one?" Kurama suggested, glancing back at her with a pleading expression. 

  


_Well....if she's Kurama's mother (However the hell that is possible), then she must know about demons and things like that......right??? _ Bronwyn was not at all sure of this thought, but decided that it was worth taking a shot at...

  


"Well....I'm a former assassin." 

  


Complete and utter silence. Kurama whirred his head around so fast that he nearly got whiplash, his eyes so wide that they seemed to take up his entire face. 

  


"Um....excuse me, dear??" Shiori whispered, looking beyond confused, thinking that she must of heard Bronwyn's words incorrectly. 

  


"Yeah, I used to live in the Ma-" 

  


The rest of her sentence was rudely cut off by Kurama's hand, which he had practically rocketed against her mouth, and was now holding it there permanently, preventing her from speaking. 

  


"Uh, you must excuse Bronwyn, mother, you see...she's....a recovering alcoholic!!" He finally was able to come up with a good excuse after a few minutes of his mind being completely blank. 

  


"I'm a WHAT?????" Bronwyn's muffled voice came out from behind his hand, though no one besides Kurama could hear it. 

  


"Yes, see, I found her on the street a month ago. She was at almost ten beers a day at that point. So I took her to an AA meeting and she's been trying to stop her addiction ever since." He paused for a moment. "But when she does break down and drink some, her mind gets a little...rattled....so you must forgive her incompetent babbling." 

  


"HEY!!!!" More incoherent words from Bronwyn. 

  


"Well, dear, feel free to stay with us as long as you need." Shiori said in a comforting voice, smiling at Bronwyn in a fashion that suggested that the raven-haired women felt sorry for her. 

  


"I'll make sure that she does nothing idiotic, mother." Kurama reassured her. 

  


_Okay, that's it!!!! _Not being able to take it anymore, Bronwyn sunk her teeth deep into the skin of Kurama's hand. Letting a loud 'ow!!!' slip past his lips, he immediately removed his hand, much to the teenager's pleasure, and began to shake his hand, his goal to cease the pain.

  


"Dear, are you okay?" Shiori asked, redirecting her attention to the two, having missed the whole escapade. She had been staring at Aiku, who was fidgeting with something in his hand...

  


Not wanting to explain what had just happened, he only muttered a low 'I'm fine' and then sent an angry expression at Bronwyn, still grasping his hand tightly. She just smiled innocently back at him, and then looked at Shiori once again. 

  


"Your son's just tired, that's all. He didn't get that much rest, last night, did he?" She cooed, patting his red mane gently, as one would to a small child. Kurama looked as though he would like nothing more than to give Bronwyn a piece of his mind, but not in favor of causing a scene, he decided to just look away. 

  


"And who might you be?" Shiori was directing the exact same question at Aiku now, who was still staring at his hand, looking deep in thought...

  


"Aiku? Hello in there?" Bronwyn waved her hand in front of the male's face, which caused him to glance up hurriedly, finally realizing that someone had asked him a question. "Wha...?" He whispered, his gaze flitting between the three people, hoping for someone to explain to him what was going on. 

  


"Um...she wants to know who you are, Aiku. So why don't you explain it to her??" Kurama suggested meekly.

  


"Oh no, Kurama, I think you could do a much better job with it..." He said, looking a bit panicked, his mind obviously not filled with too many ideas at the moment. 

  


"Oh no, I insist..." 

  


"Please, you." 

  


"You." 

  


"YOU." 

  


"WILL SOMEBODY JUST SAY SOMETHING?!?!?!" Bronwyn practically exploded at the two boys, fed up with their passing of the torch for who would tell the story. 

  


"Uh...well..." The only thing that Aiku could remember was a t.v special he had watched last night about traveling salesman who was selling bars of soap...

  


"I'm...I'm...a traveling salesman." He stated as calmly as humanly possible. Both Bronwyn and Kurama turned their heads to look at him, both wearing expressions that clearly showed their disbelief with what he had just said. 

  


"A traveling salesman." Shiori repeated flatly, sounding a tad unconvinced. 

  


"Uh...yeah...see, my idea was to sell stationary, but nobody really wanted them, so I went broke and Kur-Shuichi here...." Aiku had just barely corrected himself, and watched as a relieved expression drifted over Kurama's face, "Let me have a place to stay. But I've got a meeting in the next city on Friday, so I'll be gone by then." Someone who had just a minute ago nothing to say was now spewing out words left and right. 

  


Shiori, though, looked to be thinking as she stared at Aiku, her eyes searching his own. "Dear, your voice sounds...familiar. Have we met before??" 

  


"Of course no-" Aiku stopped abruptly in mid-sentence, the disastrous phone-call about an hour ago returning to him. "I'm sorry, mam, but no." He said nervously, praying that she wouldn't figure it out. 

  


His plee was in vain though, as the middle-aged woman gained a look of recognition. "You sound just like the rude boy I spoke with on the phone." She turned to her son at this point. "Shuichi, I thought you said it was the neighbor's son...." 

  


"Mam, it couldn't of been me!!" Aiku protested, though still trying to be polite. "Well you see, I don't answer phones, it's...it's against my religion." 

  


Bronwyn glanced back at the raven-haired boy and mouthed 'against your religion???' with an angry glow in her eyes. He only shrugged, looking helpless to do anything more. 

  


Shiori's eyes drifted between the three teenagers for a few seconds, as if she didn't know what to think, and then sighed heavily. "Well, you both are welcome to stay with us. The more the merrier!" She exclaimed, her voice bright. "I'm going to take a shower, and then we can all have dinner together. Is that alright?" 

  


Even though Bronwyn would of liked nothing more than to utter a low cry of protest to this, she instead plastered a fake smile on her face and tried to look as eager as she could. "Of course. We would like nothing better." She gritted between her teeth. 

  


The woman smiled, and walked past them to the stairwell, where she began to climb, disappearing out of sight. The trio strained their ears, listening to her footsteps as they grew fainter and fainter until they were nearly non-existent. When they were absolutely, positively, undeniably sure that anything they said at that point couldn't be heard, they all turned to one another, their polite smiles having vanished. 

  


"You bit me." It was more of a statement than an exclamation. Kurama was still clutching his right hand tightly, pain still searing through it. Bronwyn teeth's were pretty tough...

  


The girl just stared at him dumbly. "Brilliant observation, Kurama. If you hadn't of noticed, I think I might of missed it!!!" She said sarcastically, crossing her arms furiously. 

  


"I can't believe you bit me." Kurama's mind couldn't register the fact, for some reason. 

  


"Well, maybe I wouldn't of if you hadn't called me a RECOVERING ALCOHOLIC!!!" She growled, not looking too happy with the false identity Kurama had made up for her. 

  


"Well, if we had stuck with 'assassin', I fear that she probably would of called the police on you. My mother doesn't know anything about that world!!" The kitsune exclaimed, looking very flustered. 

  


"Guys, stop it...." Aiku whispered, pulling his gaze off of his hand once again to look at the two. 

  


"Oh, and this from 'religion-boy'!! Or should I call you 'The traveling salesman'?" Bronwyn growled.

  


"Hey, my lies were better than yours!!" 

  


"Yeah right! 'I don't answer phones...It's against my religion', that's convincing!!" 

  


"Is something wrong down there?" Shiori's worried voice floated down the stairs and into the entrance hallway where the three were arguing. They all grew silent for a moment, obviously not expecting her to be able to hear them, and then Kurama called up to her...

  


"We're fine, mother!!" 

  


"Well, alright, then." The faint noise of a door swinging shut was all they needed to signal that they could speak up once again. 

  


"Okay, it doesn't matter, it's all in the very immediate past now, so we now need to just get through dinner." Kurama said simply, which was quickly followed by a low cry of protest. 

  


"Oh no, when I said I was going to dinner, I didn't mean I was ACTUALLY going to dinner!!!" She screamed furiously, "I can't spend another minute with that woman!" 

  


"Why? What's the matter with my mother?" Kurama's voice had a stingy tone, which gave Bronwyn the clear picture that he didn't appreciate the 'that woman' comment in the least bit. 

  


"Look, Kurama, it's not her, she's just gonna ask way too many questions that I don't know how to answer!!" She exclaimed, leaning back against the hall wall defiantly. Aiku coughed quietly, and Bronwyn cocked her head to glare at him. 

  


"You got something to say, religion-boy?" She growled, deep chocolate colored eyes narrowing at the black haired male. 

  


"Me? No." He replied innocently. 

  


"You already said you were going, so you better get used to the idea." Kurama sighed, eyelids drifting down softly, as he shook his head. "I'll be in the kitchen." 

  


Bronwyn opened her mouth wide to argue further, but the kitsune was already disappearing behind the kitchen wall, crimson hair flowing behind him. 

  


"You can't tell me what to do!!!! You think you hold power over me?!?!?! WELL, YOU DON'T!!!!" She called, her voice echoing behind him. 

  


She grew silent for a moment, and then an angry expression appeared on her face. "Oh hell, he does." Knowing that this decision was out of her control, she decided that the most appropriate thing to do at this point was stalk upstairs, which she did. Loudly. 

  


Aiku watched her dark figure make its way up the stairs until she disappeared around the banister, and then his two bright green eyes flitted back down to his hand, where they remained for a moment, before moving back up to the stairwell....

  


****

  


_That damn fox...always nagging...always there.....I need my own house....._

  


The red-haired female continued to grumble under her breath as she struggled with the straps of the navy blue dress. Even though she would like nothing more than to push open the glass panes of the window and jump to the ground outside and just escape, if she didn't have a choice, she was at least going to look presentable to Shiori. 

  


She shivered as the cool material slid smoothly over her warm skin as she pulled the strap onto her shoulder. _I hate him...._

  


"That looks nice." 

  


Startled by the voice, she glanced towards the open doorway hurriedly, only to see Aiku leaning against the door frame casually, his hands shoved into his pockets. His face looked to be emotionless, however. 

  


"Aiku...lower-life beings are not allowed in my room. OUT!" She screamed, pointing a single finger behind him, to the dimly lit hallway sternly. 

  


"Sheesh, I just wanted to ask you a question. Is that alright with you, your Imperial Highness?" He sniffed with a sarcastic flair, ignoring Bronwyn's warning and strolling into the area. 

  


Bronwyn's dark brown eyes followed Aiku's movements carefully, wondering what the heck he could want from her, but then she sighed heavily and nodded. "Okay, what do you want to ask me?"

  


As the male dropped down onto the soft bed, he seemed to have not heard one word that had left Bronwyn's mouth. "This is a really nice room..." He commented airily, glancing around curiously. The girl just stared blankly at him for a minute and then stormed over to the bed and wrapped her hand around his wrist tightly, yanking him to his feet and pulling him to the door. 

  


"Out, out, out, OUT!!" She growled, yanking open the wooden door and practically throwing him out into the hallway. At that time, she made an attempt to shut the door in his face, but Aiku managed to push his hand against the door before it clicked shut. 

  


"What...the...hell...do....you....want?!?!?!" She whispered, putting all her weight into pushing the door closed, but failing miserably as Aiku was having no problem with keeping it open. 

  


"Do you....still have it?" His voice was so quiet, Bronwyn could barely hear it. With a loud groan, she let him push the door back open, and glared at him impatiently. 

  


"I have no idea what you're talking abou-" She was about to make another attempt at forcing the male out the door, but her sentence trailed off endlessly, leaving her completely silent. Aiku was holding out his hand in front of her, the one he had been staring at for so long...at first glance, nothing seemed strange about it, but with further inspection, you could slightly make out....a deep cut embedded in his skin....it was located straight in the middle, and he seemed to have received it quite some time ago, since it was considerably faded. 

  


He repeated the question once again. "Do you still have it?" 

  


Bronwyn still seemed to be at a loss for words at the sight of the scar, but slowly uncurled her clenched hand and stared at it intently. She at first felt relieved when she noticed nothing strange, but then...

  


It was still there. Barely, though. 

  


Her narrowed eyes traveled over and over the exact same spot again and again, and still it did nothing to convince her that the slash had remained after all those years that had passed. 

  


_Shit...this can't be..._

  


"That's funny, huh?" Aiku's nervous voice broke shattered her confusion, and she glanced back up at him only to see his face scrunched up with nervous laughter. "I could of sworn they would of been gone by now....I just noticed today....." 

  


Silence. 

  


"Out. Just....get out." Her voice was low and solemn as she shoved the male out the door and closed it shut before he could ever register what was going on. 

  


She pushed her ear up against the door, and listened for Aiku's light footsteps to travel down the stairs, staying completely still and silent until she could no longer here them. Knowing that she was alone again, she practically collapsed against the cool wood of the white door, slumping down to the carpet. 

  


It was still there. 

  


She rose the palm of her pale hand up to her face, and using her other hand, she lightly traced the scar over and over again delicately, since it still had a slight stinging sensation whenever too much force was put upon it. 

  


It was still there. 

  


Unexplainably, a sudden rush of anger overtook her emotions and she began to rub her palm over the scar repeatedly, even though it was causing pain to sear through her hand and the rest of her arm. It didn't matter if her whole body was writhing in agony, she just wanted to erase it, get rid of it...

  


It was still there. 

  


Knowing that this wasn't doing any good unless she was wishing to inflict pain on herself, she ceased her efforts and allowed her hand to drop back to her side. 

  


_It's still there. _

  


***

  


"Dear, this is wonderful. You always did have a knack for cooking." Shiori said graciously, bringing the fork, filled with fresh turkey, to her mouth once again. 

  


Sitting to the side of her, Kurama smiled and nodded. "Thank-you, mother." 

  


Despite this pleasant conversation, the dining room table seemed to hold an eery silence, except for the clangs of the metal against the plates. Kurama had noticed straight away that something was bothering Bronwyn terribly. She always had a good-sized appetite, but tonight, the only thing her fork seemed to be doing was dance around the plate, sweeping the small sphere-shaped peas around in a circle. She wore a solemn, if not sad, expression as she slumped against the wooden back of the chair. 

  


Even if his attitude was a bit brighter, Aiku seemed to be going about his dinner in the same fashion, letting the little pieces of meat lift off the china plate and then drop back down abruptly. 

  


The red-haired male raised a curious eyebrow, but didn't make a move to ask them what was going on, since it was probably something personal. 

  


"Dear....Bronwyn, was it???" Shiori's bright voice seemed to contradict the strange emotion hanging in the air, but she didn't notice in the least bit. 

  


"Uh...yeah, Bronwyn, that's my name." The female said quietly, sitting up slightly. 

  


"I was wondering if....well, you have such gorgeous hair....it looks just like Shuichi's...." She said with a warm smile, casting a kind look at her teenage son, who glanced down at his place, a little embarrassed by the comment. 

  


"Maybe I could braid it...it would look just beautiful...." She suggested sweetly, staring at Bronwyn expectantly, waiting for her opinion on the matter. 

  


This comment seemed to snap Bronwyn out of her depressed stature, and she pulled her body upright on the chair. 

  


"What's the matter with my hair?" She struggled to say this politely, though it was a little difficult. Kurama shot her a warning look, but it really did nothing to help. 

  


"Oh, nothing, but I just think it would look lovely if you would let me put it up in some braids for you." Shiori didn't seem to detect the agitated tone in Bronwyn's voice. "You know, even though I love Shuichi very much, I've always wanted a daughter, and if you were to stay with us, if would be just like I did have one." 

  


Silence. 

  


_.........daughter????_

  


Bronwyn felt a little shocked at this. It was really the first time since she had started living in Kurama's home that someone had mentioned that she was becoming part of the family. It felt very...good....

  


"Mam, I would like that. Very much." She said, smiling at Shiori, who returned it happily. She would really like to make Kurama's mother happy. It just felt like some way that she could repay her and Kurama....

  


"Well, okay, then!" Shiori said brightly, "How about tomorrow, then? Do you attend school?" 

  


"Oh, no!" She said a little too quickly, which caused Shiori to grow a little confused. "I mean...I graduated about a year ago..." She said cautiously, as both Kurama and Aiku stared her strangely, knowing she had told another lie that they could add to the growing list. 

  


"Well, then, we'll do it tomorrow!" The raven-haired woman rose from her seat and began to gather plates from the table. "I'll clean everything up, don't worry about it." She reassured the trio, who also rose up slowly from their chairs. 

  


"It's getting late. Why don't you three go up and ready yourselves for bed?" She suggested calmly, turning on the faucet and beginning to rinse the food remnants off the plates. 

  


"Okay, mother." Kurama whispered, gesturing for the other two to start making their way up the stairwell. They both got the message clearly, and started to climb the stairs, with the red-head close behind. 

  


"Bronwyn, I have some homework to do that I'm a little puzzled with. And since you're a college graduate and all, do you think you could help me?" Kurama whispered in the girl's ear as he walked behind her, with a playful tone. 

  


"Oh, shut up." Bronwyn growled, though quietly laughing as she turned her body sideways and slapped him on the shoulder lightly. 

  


But her laughter ceased immediately when she glanced nonchalantly further up and laid eyes on Aiku, who was still maintaining a good pace, though his head was cocked to the side. He was watching Bronwyn, and his bright green were echoing the solemn feeling that had been filling her mind only a short time ago.

  


"What is it, Bronwyn?" Kurama broke her out of her trance, looking slightly curious as he watched the strange expression drift over her face. 

  


"Wha....? Oh, nothing." She glanced over at him and smiled. But when he looked away, she lost the happy look and dropped her gaze down to her open hand, where the scar ran deep. 

  


It was still there. 

  


*****************************************************************************

  


Okay, is it possible to have a fever and a cold at the exact same time, because I think that's what I have!!! I've stayed home from school for two days and I'm gonna have so much homework when I go back....That's probably the only reason why I finished up this chapter so fast, since time...is...nonexistent....WHEN YOU STAY HOME FROM SCHOOL!!! 

  


Okay, I'm done ranting. 

  


Well, well, well, tension is building....Where is the scar from???? It also looks like Bronwyn and Shiori are already forming a relationship....this is getting interesting....

  


REVIEW!!! I love my reviews...

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	6. Chapter Six: An Unexpected Date

Hey all!! Next chapter for seeing! This one's looonnnggg...

  


Disclaimer: Own. Nothing. Except Bronwyn and Aiku, of course....__

  


_His heavy footsteps echoed loudly against the deafening silence of the dark night as he sprinted across the empty field, his heart pounding rapidly, filling his ears with its haunting rhythm. He had been running for so long that he wanted nothing more than to stop and rest for a few seconds at the least, but he knew he couldn't even waste a minute for himself. He had to keep moving, as fast as his tired legs could take..._

  


_For her. _

  


_She needed him, now more than anything. _

  


_A bright flash of lightning streaked the sky, a little ways in the distance. But nothing could of scared him at this point. The wind roared past his frail figure, ruffling his dark raven-colored hair in its current. _

  


_He lurched forward momentarily, having stumbled on a loose twig sticking up sharply from the dirt ground, but he couldn't stop now. The small hut was rising up in front of him....it was so close to his grasp..._

  


_He skidded to a rough stop right in front of the wooden structure, breathing heavily. He was here. It had seemed to take an eternity to reach this tiny shack that would of seemed so insignificant in any other situation. But in this particular one, it was all that mattered...it was everything. _

  


_Using no more time to stand outside and think to himself, the male lifted up the cloth blanket that was used for a make-shift door, and entered a dimly-lit area, the only warmth coming from the few lit candles that were situated in various places around the hut. He glanced around blankly, wondering for a fleeting moment if he had arrived at the correct place. _

  


_A low moan of pain answered that question right away, alerting his attention towards the back of the shack, where he could barely make out a handful of dark figures, huddled in the corner where the light of the candles couldn't reach. _

  


_His deep emerald eyes glowing with worry, he quickly circled around all of the rickety tables and chairs to the only activity occurring. _

  


_Two dark-skinned human-looking beings were hunched over another figure, both wearing concerned expressions as they spooned a thick black substance into a wooden spoon and lowered it down to another person, who was laying on a few woolen blankets and crying out in agony every few minutes. _

  


_One of the pair glanced up disinterestedly, and immediately noticed the male's presence as he stared at the woman in the bed, wearing a solemn expression. _

  


_"Uh, excuse me, young human, but Zink specifically said that this was a private job. No visitors allowed." He said sternly, his eyes gesturing to the opening._

  


_The dark-haired boy didn't acknowledge one word that they had said, instead dropping numbly to his knees, not being able to remove his eyes from the frail female, who was choking violently as the other figure forced the spoon into her mouth. _

  


_"Did you listen to a word I said, human?!?! Do I need to use force to make my point clear?!?" The first being rose from the ground, its glowing sapphire eyes laced with anger. "Leave!" She pointed her finger to the piece of brown cloth over the opening, which was slightly swaying in the brisk wind. _

  


_The sickly girl's head suddenly fell over sideways, her fiery hair draped over her face messily. Her closed eyes slowly opened to thin slits that barely showed dark brown eyes. The loud voices were hurting her ears..._

  


_Her cloudy pupils drifted around the room, until they came to land on the male, who was saying something quietly to one of the helpers Zink had hired. Her large chocolate-colored eyes widened considerably at the sight of him. _

  


_"A-Aiku..." She whispered, her voice hoarse with pain. The three tall figures turned their heads to look upon her, the two demons wearing surprised expressions, while the male smiled warmly as he dropped to his knees once again and grabbed her limp hand in his own. _

  


_"It's okay, Bronwyn, I'm here for you...." He reassured her quietly, running his other hand over her hot face gently. _

  


_"I-I don't think I c-can fight this anymore, Aiku....Maybe I should just....l-let go...." Her body was shaking so violently, it was making it difficult for her to speak. _

  


_"No. Don't say that. You can fight this. I know you can." He directed her firmly, grasping her hand tighter in his own. _

  


_"I...c-can't..." _

  


_"YOU CAN." _

  


_She let a low moan slip past her lips, and raised her other hand weakly, placing it over Aiku's hand, which was grasping her right hand already. _

  


_"Your hand i-is so s-soft..." She whispered, letting her fingers play across his pale skin. He smiled slightly. _

  


_"Um, young human, there is a chance that she's not going to live..." One of the two demon helpers said cautiously, feeling like it was her duty to correct him. He glanced over in their direction, his smile having vanished. _

  


_"And why is that?" His voice was low and agitated-sounding. _

  


_"Well, if no one's told you yet, she contracted the Ginku, which is half of the time fatal." The other demon helper, a male, shook his head softly as he let cold water from a small pail fall onto a small piece of red cloth. "Must of got it from one of her victim's blood." He added quietly. _

  


_The raven-haired male's gaze drifted between the two helplessly, and then returned to the crimson-haired girl. _

  


_"She can fight it. I know she can." He whispered angrily, pulling a small silver blade from his pocket abruptly. _

  


_Both demons backed a few feet away worriedly, obviously thinking he was going to attack them in a fury of anger. This wasn't his goal, though. _

  


_Bronwyn's eyes widened even further as she caught sight of the shimmering knife as he let it hover over her body. "W-What are you g-going to do w-with that?" She stuttered, not removing her gaze. _

  


_Aiku didn't answer her question, instead uncurling her tightly clenched hand that he had been holding a few moments ago, and slicing the shiny blade over her skin in one quick, fluid motion. _

  


_"Why d-did you d-do that??" She said, raising her hand up close to her face. Blood was dripping down slowly from the inflicted wound, running slowly over the rest of her hand. _

  


_Still not saying one word in answer to her questions, he instead took the knife and repeated the motion, though now over his own hand. _

  


_"Your blood..." He whispered, glancing down at her scarred hand, which was covered in the crimson shade. _

  


_"My blood..." He flitted his gaze over to his own hand, where blood was beginning to seep out of the opening in his cut. _

  


_He suddenly reached forward and with his injured hand, laced his fingers around her hand, which caused both scars to push up against one another. Bronwyn winced at the twinges of pain running through her body, but other than that, she only felt confused with his strange behavior. His eyelids shut tight, he seemed to be in deep concentration over whatever he was doing as he put even more force on her cut. _

  


_"It's our blood now." He finally whispered after a moment. "Take some of my strength." _

  


_"But the disease.." She lifted her head up slightly, the worried emotion evident in her eyes, "What if you..." _

  


_"It doesn't matter." He finally smiled after wearing a still expression. "I just want you to get better ,okay?" _

_She just stared at him for a moment, and then nodded slightly, letting her head sink back into the small pillow below. _

  


_"I love you." Was her goodbye as he stood up again and vacated..._

  


_****_

  


"Oh, Bronwyn, your hair will look so beautiful, all of the boys in town will be fighting for your attention." Shiori chirped, running the brush gently through Bronwyn's long fiery-red hair, untangling all of the knots and rough areas that she ran across. The two females were comfortably situated on a large, cushiony bed, covered with dark mauve colored blankets, which was located in Shiori's bedroom. 

  


"Mm-hm..." Bronwyn muttered quietly, her mind seeming to be elsewhere as she let her feet dangle over the edge of the sheets and skim against the fluffy carpet. 

  


"That is, unless you already have a boyfriend...and why wouldn't you, you're already a lovely young woman..." Shiori continued on gently, her job of brushing the tresses completed. She was now separating the thick strands of hair into sections suitable for braiding. 

  


"Mm-hm." 

  


The middle-aged woman stared blankly at the back of Bronwyn's head, wondering if the young girl was actually listening to her, and quickly decided to give her the test that she gave Shuichi ever so often...

  


"But of course, you might not have a boyfriend, since all of the boys in our town are actually radioactive dogs that just look like people." She said calmly, awaiting Bronwyn's reaction to this eagerly. 

  


"Mm-hm." 

  


"Dear, is something troubling you?" Shiori paused for a moment, waiting for a reply, but when she didn't receive one, she instead tapped Bronwyn on the shoulder firmly. 

  


"Uh, wha...?" Bronwyn pulled her body up from its slump, snapping out of her strange daze. "Oh...beautiful hair, yeah....boyfriend, yes....radioactive dogs.....wait a second, radioactive dogs?!?!?!?" She glanced over her shoulder at Shiori quizzically, who uttered a low chuckle, shaking her head softly. 

  


"No, dear, that last one was just a decoy." She laughed quietly, still working on the girl's auburn tresses carefully as she spoke. "You seem very disconnected....is something troubling you, Bronwyn?" 

  


Even though she would like nothing more than to get her worries and recurring memories out in the open, Bronwyn chose to avoid having to explain everything throughly and instead, shook her head roughly. "No. I'm...just tired, that's all." 

  


"Well, alright then..." Shiori focused on the tight braids she was creating for a moment, before returning her attention to their conversation. 

  


"So you said you have a boyfriend...." 

  


".....yes....." 

  


Silence. 

  


"So I guess you're not wanting to tell me anything about this young man, huh?" Shiori said innocently, very curious with what went on before she arrived home. 

  


Bronwyn smirked broadly, knowing that Hiei and 'young man' didn't go too well together, but it was pretty funny to think about. 

  


"What do you want to know?" She asked airily, hoping for easy questions that didn't require knowing where he lived or anything like that....

  


"Well, what's his name?" 

  


"Hiei." She responded simply. 

  


Shiori smiled warmly, securing the first braid she had created tightly with a hair scrunchie. "That's a very unique name....is he foreign?" 

  


Bronwyn was about let a loud laugh exit her mouth, but managed to control herself enough to say shakily, "No, he's from here." 

  


There was a small lull in the conversation for a moment, as Bronwyn rocked her feet back and forth playfully. 

  


"Is he older than you?" Shiori's next question seemed a little spontaneous, but it was awaiting an answer just the same. 

  


_Yeah, by a few centuries, but who's counting?? _"No, he's my age." She whispered, trying to contain the laughter that was pining to escape. 

  


"Well, that's good, girls should never date boys who are older than them." Shiori instructed firmly, finishing off the last of the tight-knitted braids. "There! It's finished!" She rose from the bed abruptly and motioned for the young girl to leave her seat as well, which she did, in a nervous state. 

  


"Come over to the mirror." She gestured her head towards the far end of the bedroom, where a full-length mirror was situated. Tentatively, the red-head trudged over to the area, and peeked at her reflection curiously. 

  


She nearly had a heart attack when she first caught sight of who was staring back at her. It was a school girl...no, a five year old who loved wearing prissy dresses and buying anything pink..but whoever it was, it was definitely not her. She looked so...so....girly!! 

  


_I have to take these evil braids out...._Her mind was reeling horribly as she began to lift her hand up to her head.

  


"Do you like it, dear?" Shiori's warm voice suddenly caused Bronwyn to realize that the woman was still watching her with interest. Dropping her hand immediately, she glanced over to the side of her, and plastered on a fake smile. She couldn't insult the hairstyle to Shiori, she would feel awful for the rest of her life...

  


"I...I think it's beautiful." She lied, trying to look pleased as she stroked one of the braids roughly, wanting nothing more than to pull the hair scrunchie off and undo it immediately. 

  


"Good." Shiori then moved over to her oak dresser and tore a piece of notebook paper from a journal, all the while still talking to Bronwyn, "Dear, would you mind doing a favor for me?" She asked calmly, grabbing a pen that was sitting nearby and scribbling something down in bright, blue letters. 

  


"No, what is it?" Bronwyn dropped back down on the bed, still wearing a disgruntled expression. She made a mental note to unravel the braids the minute she was far enough away from the house. Then, later, she could just tell Shiori that...the wind blew them out...no, that was a stupid excuse....

  


"I'm planning on cooking something special for our dinner tomorrow, but I don't have any potatoes. Do you think you could go get me some?" Shiori was now rummaging through her brown leather purse as she spoke, and pulling out small amounts of money, laying them down with the little piece of paper. 

  


"Sure." There was nothing else Bronwyn had to do that particular day. 

  


"Here..." Shiori held out the money and folded piece of paper to her, "Just go down to the grocery store at the corner. I explain exactly what I'm wanting on this sheet of paper, and this is all the money you'll need, alright, then?" 

  


"Okay." the crimson-haired girl said brightly, taking the two items in her own hands. 

  


*****

  


_Okay, this says here that she wants six potatoes...._

  


Bronwyn's eyes skimmed over the words intently as she trudged down the sidewalk. She was still feeling a little perturbed about her newfound hairstyle, but she had decided to ignore it and pretend it didn't even exist, since she really didn't want to hurt Shiori's feelings in any way. 

  


The girl was so intent on reading the note that she didn't even notice the small black shadow flitting from tree to tree across the street, following her at a close pace. 

  


_Where is the hell is the grocery store, anyway??? _

  


In all of the emotions caused by her braids, Bronwyn had forgotten to ask where the grocery store was located. It didn't matter. It had to be located somewhere in town, right? 

  


_Right. _Tucking the note down into her pocket, she reached up and brushed one huge braid that kept _hanging right beside her face _away. _It feels like I'm swatting insects..._

  


Her thoughts centering on the annoying braids suddenly ceased, however, when a strange sensation washed over her body abruptly, causing her to shiver involuntary.

  


"Hey Hiei." She smirked, stopping her pace on the sidewalk, though not turning around in the least bit. And sure enough, there was the raven-haired fire demon, wearing a slightly surprised expression as he stared down the sidewalk. 

  


"How did you know I was behind you?" 

  


"You try to surprise me so often that soon enough, it's not a surprise anymore." She turned around for the first time to face him, and watched as he nearly fell over at the sight. With her back to him, he hadn't been able to see her new hairstyle, but now, it was quite easy to spot. 

  


"What?" She asked, crossing her arms angrily. 

  


"Your hair...." 

  


"What's the matter with it?" 

  


"Nothing." 

  


"That expression on your face is saying something completely different!!!" She glanced around roughly, and then brought her head back to face him. "Do you see anyone around here?" 

  


Confused, Hiei glanced around. "There are no other ningens." He stated, wondering what she could mean.

  


"Exactly. SO IF I KILL YOU RIGHT HERE, THERE ARE NO WITNESSES!!!" She growled, shooting a death-glare at the demon, who just smirked. 

  


"Your hair is just in those idiotic-looking designs that all the other ningen females wear." He said, beginning to walk across the street. "Take it out, it makes you look as stupid as they are." With that said, he was gone, disappearing back into the trees, leaving Bronwyn staring at the spot where he was last visible. 

  


_Well, he won't be winning any awards for the nicest boyfriend anytime soon..._She grumbled mentally, continuing on her journey to the grocery store...

  


***

  


_Well, that wasn't hard in the least bit..._

  


The little silver bell jingled noisily as Bronwyn pushed open the glass door and stepped out of the grocery store, a heavy-looking plastic bag grasped tightly in her hand. It hadn't taken her too much time to stumble upon the store itself, and even less time to place six potatoes in one of those convenient little plastic bags they provided, and then give the money to the cashier and be on your merry way. Just like that. 

  


Now swinging the bag back and forth playfully, Bronwyn decided to head back to the house now, to deliver Shiori's supplies. Beginning to head towards the edge of town, she spotted something peculiar at the edge of all the activity. 

  


The small pit of land that had been covered head-to-toe with yellow banners that said 'construction: do not enter' was now occupying a small, interesting-looking building, with bright-colored banners that said in huge letters 'GRAND OPENING'. 

  


Now interested, Bronwyn sped up her pace until she came upon the structure. It was called 'The Yuhi Café' and was a soft cream-color, with large glass windows surrounding it, allowing you to look inside and gaze upon people sitting at nice tables, eating happily. There was even an outside area used for eating, with dark green garden chairs and tables. 

  


_Cool...._Even though it was an interesting-looking place, Bronwyn didn't find any reason to stick around any longer, so she turned to leave...

  


Abruptly, she whirled her head back around. Something had caught her eye the last split-second the café had been in view...a flash of bright blue....

  


Her dark brown eyes wondered the area until they landed on the clear beacon again. It was somebody's hair, put up in a high ponytail. They were seated at one of the outside tables, and were sipping on a cup filled with liquid. 

  


_There's only one person I know with that color hair..._Sure enough, when the person cocked their head sideways, Bronwyn caught a glimpse of amethyst-colored eyes underneath blue bangs. 

  


_Botan! _Taking a step forward, Bronwyn raised her arm to wave at her friend when she was sure that the girl's attention was faced towards her, and had almost succeeded, when she halted dead in her tracks, her arm falling down limply to her side. 

  


Botan wasn't sitting there alone. 

  


_Aiku _was sitting across from her at the table, also drinking something, and laughing quietly at something one of them had said.

  


_Okay...what the hell is she doing here with him?!?!?!?!?! _Completely forgetting about getting back to the house and giving Shiori her potatoes, Bronwyn non-conspicuously inched a few steps closer, hoping to hear a snippet of their conversation. But she was rudely cut off by a young man who appeared to be a waiter standing in front of her. 

  


"I'm sorry, miss, but you can't enter this area of the café unless you're buying something." He said politely, gesturing towards the exit meaningfully. 

  


Not knowing what to do, Bronwyn glanced over to the table where the pair were sitting, and then over to the exit helplessly. _I probably have enough money for a glass of water.... _She really wanted to know _why _Botan and Aiku were here TOGETHER. 

  


"Uh...yes, I'd like a table, if you don't mind. Out here." She motioned to the few empty tables located in the sun. 

  


"Very well. Just pick a table and I'll be with you in a moment." With that said, he was off to do other things that were important at that moment, while Bronwyn was left standing there on the edge of the tables. 

  


What she didn't want was for Botan and Aiku to notice her, so as quietly as humanly possible, she walked over to the table situated right beside theirs and sat down, all the while trying to hide her face with the sack of potatoes she was still carrying. When she was comfortably situated, she glanced over worriedly in their direction, and let out a heavy sigh of relief to see that they hadn't noticed her at all, absorbed in a conversation they were having. 

  


_God, these potatoes are heavy...._Knowing that her arm wasn't going to hold on much longer, she looked around worriedly, and spotted a good-sized menu on the side of the table. Grabbing it tightly in her free hand, she set the bag down on the floor beside her and raised the menu up to her face, trying to pretend like she was intently searching for a certain type of coffee. 

  


Meanwhile, her mind was spinning as she glanced timidly over the top of the menu to the two, who were drinking what looked to be coffee, and having a pleasant conversation. _I know that Botan liked Aiku, but I didn't think it would ever go this far....they're actually...on a date...._

  


_WAIT A SECOND, why do I care if they're on a date??? Hell, more power to them! It's not like I'm still interested in Aiku or anything...I shouldn't even be here...._

  


"Miss?" 

  


She glanced up hurriedly only to stare into the eyes of the waiter, who was standing patiently besides her table. "What can I-" 

  


"SSHHHHH!!!!" Bronwyn pushed a single finger to her mouth, her eyes flitting over to Botan and Aiku's table. "Come...down....here..." 

  


Though quite confused, the male brought his head down so it was only an inch or so away. 

  


"Now, I just want a glass of water...." She whispered firmly. 

  


Now wearing a bewildered expression, he only nodded slightly, and then brought his head back up straight, and began to walk away, shaking his head and mumbling under his breath. 

  


With him gone, Bronwyn redirected her attention to the two dining teenagers across the way, who still seemed too interested in their own little world to notice that she was sitting only mere feet away. 

  


_They seem really happy..._

  


She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, and her gaze momentarily drifted over to Aiku, but then flew back to the table's surface.

  


_I'm NOT jealous...that's just gross....._

  


Her foot accidentally brushed against the bag of potatoes, causing her to jump. Everything was making her uptight...

  


_If they catch me, I'll ruin their date...I have to go...._

  


Her mind made up to leave that exact second, she rose up and lifted the potatoes up to her seat. She was going to have to use it to hide her face again. Ready to try and make a break for the exit, she rose and took a shaky step forward...

  


"Miss, here's your wa-MISS, LOOK OUT!!" 

  


"Huh?" That was the only thing Bronwyn was able to say as she glanced wildly in the direction of the waiter, before filling her foot ram into the side of the his shoe, causing her to lose her balance. The bag of potatoes was thrown upwards as she fell to the concrete ground, scraping her knee hard. 

  
  


"Miss, the water!!!" 

  


She glanced up only to close her eyes once more when a huge amount of water hit her straight in the face. 

  


Wiping droplets of liquid off her face, she only had a few moments to glare at the waiter, who had let the glass drop accidentally, before getting hit with a potato straight in the face, followed by five other potatoes, which hit her in various places. The bag drifted down and came to rest on her stomach. 

  


"_Bronwyn?!?!?! What are you doing here...?" _

  


Groaning (And throwing a potato off her chest), she slowly craned her neck around so she could see Botan and Aiku, both staring wide-eyed at her. 

  


Bringing herself up to a sitting position, she smiled weakly, and did the only thing she could think of at that moment...

  


"Uh, selling potatoes...want some..?" 

  


****

  


_November 2_

  


_Okay, that was the single most humiliating moment of my entire life. _

  


_I can't believe that I just waltzed right in there and ruined their good time! What the hell was I thinking??? Why couldn't I just of brought Shiori's stupid potatoes back to her and walked right by that stupid store?? WHY??_

  


_I'm such an idiot. I was the one who wanted Botan and Aiku to get together in the first place, so why was I wanting to stay and spy on them?_

  


_I'm not jealous, that's for sure._

  


***

  


Bronwyn took a short break from her writing to chew thoughtfully on the end of her pen, staring at the dark scribbled words scrawled all over the page. She couldn't be jealous, it wasn't possible. Aiku was a little insignificant worm who didn't matter anymore...

  


***

  


_I'M NOT. _

  


_*Bronwyn*_

  


_***_

  


Closing the leather-bound book slowly, she gently laid it on the bedside table and then turned the lamp's switch to 'off', causing the room to abruptly grow pitch-black. 

  


Staring up at the shadows dancing across the ceiling, Bronwyn sighed heavily. She just needed a good night's sleep, and she would feel a lot better....

  


***

  


_It was all exactly the same as the first time._

  


_Maybe that was what caused Bronwyn to gain a worried expression as she glanced around at the foliage, a pained glow evident in her eyes._

  


_It was an exact replica of the scenery in her last dream of....of...._

  


_"Oh hell, no..." She spoke out loud, without even hardly realizing it._

  


_She could tell. _

  


_She could feel it in the cool breeze that was drifting past. _

  


_It was about to happen once again. _

  


_And sure enough, as she slowly brought her head over to the side, she caught sight of the two figures once again. Just like last time..._

  


_Hiei, his crimson red eyes glittering with determination as he stared hard at the person standing across from him on the cool forest floor. His sword was grasped in his right hand, but he never brought it upward, never moved it whatsoever..._

  


_And then the mysterious stranger, whose face was still hidden from view to Bronwyn, as he raised his own sword, a glimmering blade, and aimed its point directly at Hiei's neck, before moving it down slowly, so it was level with his chest. _

  


_And the fire demon still didn't move one inch, the only thing in motion his eyes, which followed the sword's every movement. _

  


_"Why won't you freaken' do anything, Hiei?!?!?!" Bronwyn cried in vain, though she knew nothing she said could change what was going to occur next. _

  


_Slowly but steadily, the anonymous figure brought the long blade back and then..._

  


_Bronwyn brought her stare away back to the many trees to her other side, determined not to let her curiosity get the best of her and force her eyes to see what was going on. _

  


_The sickening thuds of the sword as they cut through flesh were so deafening that her hands flew to her ears, and she rocked her head roughly from side to side, trying to drown out everything. The sword-swipes, her own breathing, the beeping..._

  


_Wait a second, beeping??? _

  


_Cautiously opening her eyes slowly, which she had shut in all the commotion, she allowed her gaze to drift around, searching for the source of the new sound....she hadn't heard it last time....so why was it suddenly echoing through her ears? _

  


_Hold it, it sounded like it was...emitting from....her body...._

  


_Looking down curiously, she was surprised to find a watch, of all things, secure around her pale wrist. _

  


_Since when did she own a watch? _

  


_With a closer inspection, she could see that it was digital, and in it's center, were the numbers- 2:00, which were flashing wildly, the beeping growing louder with each second that passed. _

  


_Fidgeting with the small buttons on its side, she finally succeeded in shutting the metal device off, which then caused the forest area to be silent, except for the sounds of metal against skin..._

  


_In the midst of the mystery of the watch, she had completely forgotten about what was occurring right to the side of her. The idea that what she would see if she let her eyes wander would upset her having left her mind momentarily, she looked back over cautiously...._

  


_Nearly uncontrollably, a low cry of horror slipped past her lips, her hands flying to her mouth._

  


_So...much...blood..._

  


_So much flesh._

  


_So much pain..._

  


_A women's screams filled her ears._

  


_She was too shocked to notice that she was the one screaming..._

  


_***_

"Bronwyn, wake up! BRONWYN!!!!" 

  


The red-headed girl's eyes flitted open almost immediately, revealing her dark bedroom. Right above her was a dark figure, who she recognized after a few seconds as Shiori, who was clad in a mauve-colored robe, her dark hair tied back in a neat ponytail, her eyes wide with worry. 

  


"What the hell are you screaming about?" This new voice caused her to glance over towards the door, where Aiku was standing lazily, rubbing his eyes and yawning heavily. "Oh, sorry, mam...." He muttered as Shiori looked over at him resentfully for his language. 

  


"Yes, you've managed to wake the entire household...." Kurama's soft voice alerted her to right behind Shiori, where the fox was standing, also looking very tired himself. 

  


"Oh, uh....uh...n-nothing...." She couldn't keep herself from stuttering. She had no idea she had been _actually _screaming in her sleep...

  


"Are you sure everything's alright? You're sweating like mad..." The middle-aged woman commented nervously. Brownyn raised a tentative hand to her forehead, and sure enough, her skin ran across the hot beads of liquid running down her forehead. 

  


"Yeah, I'm fine...just a bad dream...." She said quietly. 

  


"Oh, a nightmare, was it? Well, it'll be okay....all a nightmare is is a figment of our imagination..." 

  


Bronwyn couldn't help but feel like a five-year old as she laid her head back down gently on her pillow as Shiori pulled the blanket over her figure. The other two boys left the room, and were closely followed by Shiori, who turned and smiled back at the girl before exiting..

  


"Just push those bad thoughts away, okay? There not real at all...." She said comfortingly, pulling the door shut. 

  


"Yeah, it's....it's not real...not real at all...." 

  


****************************************************************************

  


Ooh^^, so interesting.....

  


I haven't had a teaser in a long time, but now I will!

  


*Botan asks Bronwyn if her seeing Aiku is alright....* 

  


*Yusuke wins tickets to an amusement park, and the gang decides to go....but Hiei's going to need a little encouragement...Enter Aiku's paralyzation power....* 

  


*Yukina comes as well....and when Botan unintentionally lets Hiei's secret slip to Bronwyn, the former assassin decides to play a joke on the fire demon....if you like seeing Hiei having a nervous spasm, you'll LOVE this!!* 

  


Reviews help me write!! Please send some, it's not that hard!! You just click that little button down there....

  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	7. Chapter Seven: Yemmin Amusement Park

*Taps computer screen* Okay, that cannot be right!! It can't have been THAT long since I last updated!! That was over two months ago!! 

  


Aah, gomen!! I didn't mean to wait that long^^' But to make up for the long wait, this chapter is...

  


LOOOOONNNNNGGGGG. 

  


25 pages to be exact. Longest chapter I've ever written^^ 

  


So get ready for a hell of a lot of reading. __

  


_Disclaimer: Do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. Own Bronwyn, Aiku, and that poor park attendant who has to deal with Hiei....may god bless her soul-_-_

  


_*****************************_

  


_Just a dream....only a dream....nothing but a dream..._

  


It was no use. The repeated words running through her head were doing absolutely nothing to help get rid of the odd shivering sensation that was running over her body relentlessly. 

  


Twisting the silver faucet so as to allow the water to flow freely, Bronwyn stared blankly down at the slick marble surface of the sink as it filled quickly, so many things running through her head that it was hard to keep track of hardly any of them. 

  


Nothing made sense to the red-head anymore. If that stupid dream didn't mean anything, nothing whatsoever, then WHY had she dreamt it a second time???

  


Dipping her pale hands into the pool of water, she silently splashed it right at her face, hoping that it would wake her up from this recurring nightmare. If it would just leave her ALONE!! 

  


She then proceeded to shake her head wildly, long tendrils of auburn-colored hair slapping her in the face as water droplets went flying in every direction, splattering the mirror. Maybe if she just shook her head hard enough, the horrible images would be flung from her mind...

  


She abruptly halted the sharp motions, and her gaze landed on her reflection in the mirror. She was a utter mess, alright. It seemed as though her tangled hair could serve as a nest for birds, the way it was hanging all over her head. Her large brown eyes seemed to be darker than usual, and she could immediately spot the huge bags under her eyes. It was understandable, considering she hadn't gotten one second of sleep since she had woken up screaming in the middle of the night....much to the displeasure of Shiori, Kurama, and Aiku...

  


_Speaking of them...where are they?!?! The house is so quiet.._

  


_Oh yeah..._The recollection of the night before, where Shiori had hurriedly mentioned to her that she would be going to a job interview early in the morning came back to her, as did Kurama informing her that he would be taking care of some business for a few hours. As for Aiku...aww, who the hell cared?? He had probably ventured off somewhere....

  


Since the water obviously wasn't helping her situation, she twisted the faucet back so that no more water could escape into the sink, and then she unplugged the sink, watching the water drain slowly. 

  


Hugging her shoulders tightly, she brought her head up to give herself one last glance. She had planned to try and fix up her hair as best as she could, but when her eyes met the identical pair in the clear glass, she caught sight of something else...

  


Her eyes grew wide as, behind her reflection, she could see the forest clearing...the same one..

  


She could clearly see Hiei's small figure standing motionlessly...he seemed so far away, though...

  


The sword suddenly rocketed forward, cutting straight into his skin....blood...it was everywhere....

  


_No....stop!!_

  


Her silent pleas weren't doing anything to help whatsoever. Hiei's bloody body was shoved to the ground, and the silver blade was once again thrust, though this time straight at his neck...

  


_NO!!!_

  


Her deep brown eyes drifted down to her hands....they felt so moist suddenly....

  


_Oh my god..._

  


A low gasp slipped past her lips as she locked eyes on the dark red blood coating both of her hands...his blood....

  


Her pajamas...they were drenched in blood as well...every inch of her body was covered in Hiei's blood...

  


_GET IT OFF OF ME!!_

  


She valiantly tried to shake off the sticky liquid, but it stuck to her skin, to her clothes....she wanted to cry, to scream, but it was getting caught in her throat every time....

  


_STOP IT!! JUST STOP IT!!! GET AWAY FROM ME!!! _

  


Before she even knew what she was doing, she had pressed her hands up against the wall of the bathroom and without hesitating, slammed her head as hard as possible against the plaster. 

  


"LEAVE. ME. ALONE!!!!" She screamed as loud as her voice would allow her to, falling onto her knees with one last anguished moan. Silence filled the room, the only noise, her heavy breathing. 

  


_No...._

  


Clenching her hand into a fist, she slammed it against the wall, causing the room to shake slightly. 

  


Though afraid of what she might see, Bronwyn slowly allowed her eyes to open. The first thing she laid eyes on were her knees beneath her, her clean, white pajama bottoms. 

  


_What happened...to the blood?_

  


Rising from the ground slowly, she inspected herself throughly, and established the fact even further...there _was _no blood. 

  


_I...only imagined it...._

  


Her dark brown eyes traveled back over to the mirror, and she cringed as she caught sight of a figure standing there in the clear glass. But she quickly realized that it was herself, only herself... 

  


_Okay, so now that I've arrived at the fact that I'm going insane...._

  


Groaning, she slumped against the wall once again, her nervous and shocked expression now replaced with a tired and fed-up one. 

  


_What is going on with me?? Why am I having these stupid dreams???? WHY DOESN'T ANYTHING MAKE SENSE ANYMORE?!?!?!_

  


She buried her face in her knees, noticing how quiet the room had gotten suddenly...

  


_*Ding Dong* _

  


"Oh!" The red-haired girl jumped a foot at in the air at the cheery sound of the doorbell as it echoed through the house merrily. 

  


_I'm losing...my....mind..._

  


At first, she ignored the dings of the doorbell, hoping that whoever it was would just go away eventually and leave her be, but after almost five minutes of repeated jingles running through her ears, she finally jumped up from the cold tile of the bathroom floor, having had enough. 

  


"Fine, I'm coming, I'm coming!!" She grumbled loudly, heading out the door and down the long flight of stairs, skipping a few as she went along. Finally landing on the hard marble of the entrance hallway, she trudged over slowly to the front door, and threw it open angrily, only to reveal...

  


"Botan?!? What are you doing here??" Sure enough, the blue-haired Deity of Death was standing on the front porch of the Minamino household, wearing a expression that was a mixture of worry and sadness. 

  


"I...I just wanted to talk to you, Bronwyn..." She spoke, her voice only a small whisper, so quiet that the former assassin had to strain her ears to catch it. "There's something I need to know...." 

  


"Oh....well, you can come in..." She moved out of the doorway so the Grim Reaper could enter the household, wearing a confused expression. What was so important that Botan couldn't wait....? 

  


She shook her head, reminding herself that she was about to find out for herself. Closing the door, she followed Botan down the hallway to the living room, where she took a seat on the couch opposite of the armchair where Botan had seated herself, looking a little uncomfortable. 

  


"...Well...?" Bronwyn finally broke the strange silence, appearing a little eager as she rested her head on the cushion of the couch, staring expectantly at the woman. 

  


"Well...do you remember what happened yesterday...?" She began tentatively, fidgeting slightly in the chair, as if expecting Bronwyn to suddenly lunge at her. 

  


_Yesterday....yesterday..._The red-head shrugged, no memories returning to her at the moment. "Can't say I do." She spoke breezily. 

  


Botan's amethyst-colored eyes grew wide as she stared blankly at Bronwyn, her mind not seeming to register that Bronwyn couldn't remember the strange event that had occurred at the café. 

  


"Can't you remember anything?!?!" She spoke, a tiny sweatdrop rolling down her head. "The cafe...Aiku and I....you were there with those potatoes..." 

  


Bronwyn immediately froze in her spot, Botan's words bringing back everything that had happened. The newly-opened café, Botan and Aiku's date, her decision to spy...she could feel her face growing red just thinking about it. What the hell had possessed her to do that?!?! It had been the most humiliating moment of her entire life...

  


"Yeah...yeah, I do remember that..." She spoke softly, her gaze having dropped to the ground in all of her embarrassment. 

  


"Well...I was just wondering..." Botan paused a moment, biting on her finger nervously. "You seemed a little bit...upset at the café...and I thought....that maybe....you still have feelings for-" 

  


"STOP RIGHT THERE!!!" Bronwyn cried, pointing a stiff finger at the blue-haired girl, who jumped a bit at the sudden outburst. "I'll make this clear. I have NO more feelings for Aiku. Zip. Zero. Nada. Goose egg." 

  


"But, at the café..." 

  


"_At the café...." _Bronwyn interrupted once again, her voice thick with tense emotion. "I don't know what happened to me. You two just...surprised me, that's all..." 

  


"Oh...." Botan looked thoughtful as she continued to bite softly on her finger. "So...you're okay with me and him...?" 

  


"Of course!! Just...you should take things...slow...." Bronwyn had considered telling Botan about all that happened to her when she had been dating Aiku, but when she caught sight of Botan's hopeful expression, she knew that it would ruin everything. And maybe...maybe Aiku had changed his ways since then...

  


_Besides...if it looks like he's going to attempt something...I'm sure to notice in time....won't I? _

  


_Of course I will...._

  


"Of course I will!!" Botan chirped, her merry attitude that she always had seeming to return to her. "Thank-you so much, Bronwyn!!" 

  


Before the red-head knew what was going on, Botan had practically jumped from the armchair over to the couch and had wrapped her arms around Bronwyn's waist, hugging her tightly. 

  


"Okay, yeah, that's nice, Botan...waaayyyy too close..." She cried, trying to break out of the girl's iron grasp. 

  


"Oh...sorry...." The blue-haired female whispered, loosening her grip enough so that Bronwyn could break away from the embrace, her cheeks a bit pink from her sudden outburst of happiness. But as she backed away, brushing a loose strand of blue hair away from her face, her eyes seemed to grow confused as she stared at the red-head. 

  


"...Bronwyn, did you get much sleep last night? You look so tired..." 

  


"Oh, nothing....I'm not tired, what gave you that idea??" This was the wrong thing to say, though, since the second after she had finished her sentence, a loud yawn escaped her lips, one which she hadn't been able to hold back.

  


"Ah-hah!! Yes you are! What's the matter?? Botan prodded, eagerly moving a little bit closer to Bronwyn, who had now become the one who was uncomfortable. 

  


"Uh...well..." 

  


"Is something troubling you?"

  


"Um..I..." 

  


"Bronwyn, you can tell me. I'll listen." Botan whispered, suddenly losing the perky attitude and gaining a serious one, which was a little odd. 

  


'Well..." Bronwyn hesitated for a moment, but decided that it would be best to tell someone before the dream drove her insane. "Okay...It's just that I keep having these-" 

  


"YAAAAAHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" 

  


_What the hell...? _

  


Her sentence having trailed off, Bronwyn abruptly cocked her head over to the direction of the strange scream, which was the front door, as did Botan, who looked quite confused. 

  


"What was that????" She asked the auburn-haired girl curiously, rising from the couch, having forgotten about discovering what was troubling Bronwyn. 

  


"I...don't know...." She whispered, also jumping to her feet...

  


Their questions on who had screamed were suddenly interrupted by the rough banging on the front door of the household, followed by a loud voice that echoed throughout the room.

  


"LET US IN!!!!" Yusuke's voice was clear as he continued to bang on the door relentlessly. Botan glanced at Bronwyn expectantly, as if expecting the girl to jump up and run to the front door, but instead, the red-head stayed perfectly, wearing a blank expression as she stared straight across the room at the wall. 

  


"OPEN UP!!!!!" The raven-haired male cried once again, his fists pounding harder and harder against the hard wood of the door.

  


"Uh...I'll get it, Bronwyn..." Botan finally said after a few more seconds, beginning to walk in the direction of the entrance hallway, but she was suddenly stopped by Bronwyn's tight grasp around her arm. 

  


"Don't. I'm bored, and I'd rather hear more about what he wants before I just open the door." The former assassin smirked, dropping back onto the large couch. Even though the blue-haired Grim Reaper was quite confused, she cautiously sat back down again as well. 

  


"GUYS, WILL YOU JUST OPEN THE DOOR?!?!?!?!" 

  


"Who issssss it?" Bronwyn sang mockingly, loud enough so it was able to be heard outside. 

  


"It's Yusuke, you bimbo!!! Don't you recognize my voice!?!?!" The boy was beginning to lose the little bit of patience that he had left within him, kicking the door hard with his left foot. 

  


"AND KUWABARA!!" 

  


"AND AIKU!!!" 

  


Two more voices joined Yusuke's, both sounding as urgent and angry as his did. The pounding on the door continued, with no hint of stopping anytime soon, and Bronwyn sneered, rising from her seat and lazily trudging over to the front door, where she leaned against the wall right beside it. 

  


"Well, I was just about to open the door, but I really don't appreciate being called a 'bimbo'." She whispered coldly, though still wearing a small smile as she gently tapped her knuckles against the wall. 

  


"C'MON!!! I DIDN'T MEAN IT!! I REALLY NEED TO TELL YOU SOMETHING!!" 

  


"Weeeeeelllllll....okay." With that said, she outstretched her arm and grabbed the brass door handle, pulling open the door slowly. She had only just gotten half-way through the process of opening the door whenever she was practically ran over by the three males, who charged into the home, resembling a stampede of animals. 

  


"Oh....sorry, Bronwyn....didn't see you there..." Aiku said, staring down at the girl curiously, who had been pushed to the floor by Yusuke and Kuwabara. He extended his hand for her to grab so he could pull her to her feet, but she coldly shoved it away, sneering at the black-haired male. 

  


"I don't need any help." She whispered, rising to her feet and brushing herself off. Aiku only shrugged at her display of anger, smiling smartly. 

  


"Suit yourself." He then turned away, and headed towards the other two males, who were excitedly jumping around the chair which Botan was seated in, squealing merrily. 

  


"Yusuke, Kuwabara, calm down!! What is it??" Botan whispered nervously, holding up her hands wildly and trying to settle the pair down as they hopped around the armchair she was seated in, both wearing goofy grins. 

  


"I won!! I WON!!!" Yusuke chanted, waving a large white envelope in front of the blue-haired girl's face, one which she eyed curiously. 

  


"Won _what??" _Bronwyn growled, crossing her arms in front of her self-consciously, considering the fact that she was still wearing her pajamas, though none of the boys seemed to take any notice to it. 

  


"THE CONTEST!!!" Yusuke cried, now turning to face the red-head, and waving the envelope in her face mockingly. She only stared blankly at it for a moment, before snatching it out of his hand and fingering it carefully.

  


"You still haven't told us what it is.." She commented disinterestedly, though opening the envelope anyway. Reaching her fingers in, she pulled out eight or so brightly colored pieces of paper.

  


"What the heck are these??" She asked, bringing them close to her face so she was able to read the neatly printed words on them. It read 'Yemmin Amusement Park: The most exciting place in all of Japan!!! With thrilling rides, delicious food, and challenging carnival games, you'll never regret your visit!! Hours: 8:00 a.m to 11:00 p.m. 

  


"And this means..._what??_" Bronwyn asked in a bored tone, now having began to use the tickets as a fan, waving them towards her face. 

  


"I won them at the mall!!! They were giving out raffle tickets and I won!!! Eight tickets to this cool amusement park!!! Wanna go???" The raven-haired male asked eagerly, glancing back and forth from Botan to Bronwyn.

  


"Go as in...there??" The former assassin asked, wearing a frown as she pointed a single finger at the tickets. "I don't think so...." 

  


"C'mon!!! These tickets are only good for today!!!" Yusuke whined, staring at Bronwyn with begging brown eyes. 

  


"Today?!?!" 

  


"Well, no one said the mall I won them at was rolling in money...." He shrugged, grabbing the tickets back from her and shoving them into the pocket of his pants. "We've got to find eight people, and fast...well, there's me and Kuwabara...." He gestured his thumb over to the carrot-topped male who grinned and nodded. 

  


"Aiku...." He glanced over at the male expectantly, who nodded as well. 

  


"Botan...you in??" He asked, turning his gaze over to the blue-haired girl, who giggled quietly, shaking her head up and down, and casting a quick glance at Aiku. 

  


Yusuke took a deep breath, rotating his body around so as to face Bronwyn, who was wearing an angry expression, one hand placed on her hip.

  


".....Bronwyn....?" He asked, his eyes purposely growing wide, in an attempt to woo her into accepting the invitation. She only shot him a dumb look before turning away from the group of four, sighing.

  


".....Fine...but only because you look so pitiful...." She finally sneered, leaving the group in the living room as she entered the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water. 

  


"Good, now we only have three tickets left...." Yusuke concentrated his two chocolate brown eyes on the cream-colored carpet, trying to think of any other friends he had...

  


"Is anybody here??" 

  


Every head in the room abruptly turned towards the front door, where the voice had emitted, only to see the crimson-haired kitsune close the door behind him, wearing a polite smile as his gaze traveled over all of his friends, just realizing that they were present. 

  


"What brings you all here??" He asked kindly, his stare settling on Yusuke, who gained a huge grin as he approached Kurama quickly, pulling a single ticket out of his pocket swiftly.

  


"Kurama, buddy, how would you like to go to the Yemmin Amusement Park with us today?? It'll be tons of fun." The Spirit Detective drawled, placing a friendly hand on the kitsune's shoulder, and waving the ticket in front of his emerald eyes. 

  


"Well....okay, why not? I'm not busy today....I'll just have to ask my mother..." He answered happily, taking the ticket from Yusuke's grasp and reading over it intently before placing it in his coat pocket. 

  


"Great!! Now, we only need two more people...." The black-haired male rubbed his chin thoughtfully, having returned to his silent state, before Kuwabara's deep voice interrupted his thought process...

  


"I know, I know!!! We will invite my beloved Yukina-chan!!!" The lanky teenager chirped, beginning to twirl around merrily at the mere thought of the gorgeous ice maiden.

  


"Suuurrreeee...." Yusuke whispered, though his expression was a bit weirded-out as he watched Kuwabara dance around the living room, chanting the koorime's name in a sing-song voice. 

  


"One more person is all we need, and we're set!" He said, holding up the last ticket high in the air. 

  


"What about Hiei?" Botan suggested timidly, running her fingers through her cerulean-colored ponytail. 

  


"The shrimp?!?!?!" Kuwabara had ceased his ballet routine long enough to make a face at the mention of the fire demon. "No way!! He'll ruin everything!"

  


"And _why _is that??" Both males turned their heads to the entrance of the kitchen, where Bronwyn's head was poking out from behind the wall, wearing a venomous expression.

  


"Uh...no reason....it's just....we don't even know where he is!" Kuwabara covered up his blunder hurriedly, rubbing the back of his head nervously. 

  


"Well, we could always just stand outside and scream his name until he decides to come out of hiding...." Yusuke shrugged, but his idea was interrupted by Bronwyn's loud chuckling, as she shook her head sadly at the adolescent. 

  


"Amateurs." She giggled, holding out her hand. "Would you hand me the phone??" 

  


Though quite confused, Yusuke wondered over to the clean white kitchen counter and picked up the cordless phone, which he handed to Bronwyn curiously. 

  


"I suggest you take notes." She grinned, beginning to dial the numbers accordingly on the mechanical device. When she had finished with her task, she held up the receiver to her ear patiently. 

  


"Yes, ma'am, would you be so kind as to do a favor for me??" She finally spoke up again, wearing a pleasant smile as she waited for a reply. Her deep brown eyes caught on Yusuke and Kuwabara, who both looked confused beyond recognition. Rolling her eyes, she silently mouthed the words 'city payphone', before clearing her throat and continuing with her conversation.

  


"You would? Why, thank-you, ma'am, I am forever in your debt." She spoke in the most kind voice the red-head could muster up. "I need you to turn around and scream as loud as possible, 'Hiei, Bronwyn's on the phone for you!!' Yes, I know it's a strange request, but you could please just do it for me??" 

  


She waited for a few seconds eagerly, and then a huge grin spread across her face. "Thank-you!!" 

  


The grin having now transformed into a smirk, she moved the receiver away from her ear and held it up high in front of her, much to the confusion of everyone else, who eyed the phone curiously. 

  


The former assassin then raised her other hand up into the air, and without one word, held up five fingers, mouthing the number five.

  


Then, in the time that a second would pass, she brought down one finger, now mouthing 'four'. 

  


She continued on with this, the crowd of teenagers growing more curious with each dropped finger. 

  


Three....

  


Two....

  


One....

  


And at the exact moment that she gestured her hand towards the phone, a loud scream emitted from the device, so loud that it caused everyone to cringe uncontrollably, with the exception of Bronwyn, who only smiled broadly before returning the receiver to her ear. 

  


"Hey, Hiei." 

  


A pause. 

  


"Oh, well that's too bad. You can take a nap anytime. I need you to come down to Kurama's house." 

  


Another pause, as Hiei answered, though no one else could hear his reply besides the red-head.

  


"Why?" Bronwyn's smile lessened quite a bit as she realized that if she told Hiei the truth over the phone, he would never agree. "Well..because....because I asked you to!! Isn't that a good enough reason? For me??" She questioned him gently. She grew silent for a moment, before the grin returning to her face.

  


"I thought you would. See you in a minute. Bye." And with that, she clicked the off-button, and tossed the phone carelessly over her shoulder onto the couch, all with a pleased smile. 

  


"He'll be here." She smirked, beginning to head towards the stairs, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get dressed." With that said, she left the group of five seated in the living room, all wearing dumbfounded expressions. After a long moment of silence, Kuwabara was the first one to speak up...

  


"How'd she _do _that?" 

  


*^* 

  


"No." 

  


"But _Hiei...." _

  


"Are you deaf?!? No. I'm not going to some place that's crawling with ningens." 

  


"But-" 

  


"NO." 

  


Knowing that this wasn't going to accomplish anything anytime soon, Bronwyn instead threw up her hands in defeat and stormed away from the dark-haired fire demon, wearing a disgruntled expression.

  


"So? How'd it go?" Yusuke asked curiously, as he and Kurama placed the last freezer of drinks for the road in the small trunk of the red convertible. Kuwabara had somehow managed to convince Shizuru to let him borrow the car for the day, and for the last half-hour, the group of seven had been preparing for the trip. Hiei had shown up not soon after, and had finally been informed of why he had been invited. Obviously, he had immediately refused. 

  


Bronwyn only casually leaned against the car door of the car, sighing. "What do you think??"

  


Yusuke stared at the girl for a moment before raising his hand up and making a motion that was similiar to that of a crashing plane. "Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee....BOOM!!!!" He gestured the moments of an explosion.

  


"Exactly. Now what??" 

  


Both males glanced towards each other nervously, and it was obvious that they didn't have any ideas at the moment. It was at this time, that Aiku arrived, wearing a pair of dark shades. He grinned broadly at the three as he arrived at the parked car. 

  


"What's going on?" He asked, noticing that they all wore expressions that weren't too happy. 

  


"Hiei's refusing to go." Bronwyn informed him coldy, turning her gaze away from the guys back towards the demon, who was she could spot perched up in a tree pretty close to the road, obviously watching them. 

  


Aiku rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment, before a smile spread across his face. Holding up a single hand, he gestured towards Yusuke and Kurama, and then in the direction where Hiei was situated. Without one word spoken, he began to slowly walk across the road over to the edge of the forest. The other two males shared a glance, shrugged, and then began to follow the black-haired boy curiously. 

  


"Okay, almost time to get going, gang!!!" Botan chirped, wearing a large pair of sunglasses and swinging a large bag covered with sunflowers playfully as she arrived at the car. She glanced around curiously, having noticed at that moment that no one was there except for Bronwyn, who meanwhile, had jumped up onto the back of the car and was now swinging her legs playfully as she kept her gaze on the side of the forest, where she had left seen Aiku, Yusuke, and Kurama before they had all entered the forest.

  


"Where'd everyone go?" The blue-haired female asked, allowing the sunglasses to slip down her nose a bit, revealing vibrant amethyst-colored eyes. "We've got to get going!" 

  


"I dunno, they went over into the forest to do god-knows-what...." Bronwyn sighed, placing her elbows on the slick red surface of the convertible. "They're trying to convince Hiei to come, but I doubt that-" Her sentence was suddenly cut off by a venomous scream that erupted from the trees...

  


"Put me down, you baka ningens!! PUT ME DOWN!!!" 

  


No sooner had the two girls heard the scream, then the three males returned from the trees. As they grew closer to the car, Bronwyn had to muster up all of her strength not to laugh. Both Kurama and Aiku was holding Hiei's legs, while Yusuke carried the upper torso. You could easily hear the poor fire demon muttering curses at the three guys as they finally came to a halt right beside the red-head and Botan, whose eyes were wide. 

  


"Paralyzation is a wonderful thing, isn't it, guys??" Aiku chuckled, his green eyes bright with glee. 

  


"So, I guess we should put him in the car now, shouldn't we?" Kurama questioned the other two curiously.

  


"But why just _set _him in the car when we can do something a heck of a lot more fun?" Yusuke drawled, staring down at Hiei with an evil smile. 

  


"You're all going to _burn _when I'm done with you..." The fire demon growled, wearing a purely venomous look. 

  


No one seemed to mind the grave statement though, as Aiku, Yusuke, and Kurama shared a meaningful glance, the same idea seeming to reside in all three of their minds. 

  


Slowly but steadily, they began to swing Hiei's body back and forth, laughing quietly as they did. 

  


"And a one..." Yusuke began slowly, wearing a broad grin.

  


"And a two..." Aiku added playfully.

  


"And a THREE!!!" 

  


At that moment, they all let go of Hiei only to watch his poor body tossed up into the air and land in the backseat of the car.

  


"YOU ALL WILL SUFFER FOR THIS!!!" A scream emitted from the seat. 

  


"Yeah, yeah, yeah...." Yusuke waved away Hiei's words, still wearing the same silly grin. "Okay, guys, we've got about fifteen minutes before he can move and we all become pork-chops, so let's get going!!!" 

  


"Oh, no worries!!" Bronwyn grinned, jumping over the car door to the seat where Hiei was helplessly laying in, shooting death-glares at no one in particular. "He won't be going anywhere." 

  


With that said, she sat down right on his stomach, glancing over at the fire demon curiously to see what his reaction was. 

  


"Hello, sunshine!!!" She giggled, ruffling his hair from her seat on his body. "You wouldn't dare push me off of you, would you??" She said mockingly, now beginning to run her finger down his face gently. 

  


Hiei's crimson eyes followed her finger, but he remained silent, which Bronwyn decided to take as a 'no, he wouldn't'.

  


"Hey guys!!" Everyone glanced up towards the road to see Kuwabara skipping merrily down the sidewalk, clutching the small hand of a certain ice maiden who was smiling brightly, her light blue-turquoise hair flowing behind her in the gentle breeze. "You all ready to go?" 

  


"Yeah, we're all fine. EVERYONE IN THE CAR!!!" He screamed, immediately jumping into the driver's seat, much to the surprise of everyone else. 

  


"Uh...Yusuke...why don't you let Kurama drive? He's got a license, I think..." She suggested, casting a glance at Kurama for approval. 

  


"Actually, it's only a permit..." He corrected her kindly. "I can't drive without an adult..." 

  


"Well, at least that's better than what Yusuke has....a big, fat nothing!!" She stuck her tongue out at the Spirit Detective, who only shooed her away disinterestedly. 

  


"Listen, I've been watching my ma drive forever, so I think that I can handle it, alright?" He reassured the group, leaning back against the cream-colored driver's seat, his hands placed accordingly on the steering wheel. "Besides, if there's any police on the road, I can easily lose them....trust me, I've done it before...." He grinned. 

  


The rest of the gang shared nervous glances, but it was silently agreed that it would probably turn out to be alright, and everyone filed into the car accordingly. They were a little short on seats, though, so the final seating arrangement was Yusuke in the driver's seat, Kuwabara and Yukina both sitting in the front. In the back, It was Aiku, Botan, Kurama, and then Hiei's body, with Bronwyn sitting on him. 

  


"Okay, let's get going then!!" Yusuke cried, twisting the keys in the ignition and hitting the gas pedal...

  


*^*^*

  


"When are we gonna get there???? We've been driving foooorrrreeeevvvveeerrrrrr....." 

  


"Will you shut up, Kuwabara?!? We've still got at least half an hour before we reach the park." Yusuke gritted his teeth, completely sick of the orange-haired boy's endless whining, as was everyone else in the red convertible. 

  


"Well, maybe if _someone _hadn't of had to buy a soda at the gas station, we would of been there by now!" Botan growled from the backseat, glaring at the back of Yusuke's head. 

  


"Hey, don't blame me!! Driving takes a lot out of you..." The Spirit Detective drawled as he rose the nearly-empty soda can to his lips and finished off its contents before carelessly throwing it out of the car. 

  


Bronwyn only sighed heavily, fed up with all the arguing and problems that had been taking place the whole car ride. Early on in the trip, Hiei had regained the use of his limbs, and had caused a traffic jam on the highway when he had attempted to strangle Yusuke(and nearly succeeded). But after a quick talking-to from Bronwyn, he had calmed down, and was now taking a nap. The red-head was now seated in his lap, since there wasn't enough room for her to sit anywhere else. 

  


"Uh, guys...." Kuwabara started warily, wearing a funny expression as he fidgeted uncomfortably in the car seat. Yukina noticed right away and rose her head to stare curiously at him with deep crimson eyes. 

  


"What's the matter, Kazuma?" She asked delicately. 

  


"I...I gotta go." He stammered, a bead of sweat rolling down his face.

  


"Go? Go where?" Yusuke asked, his focus concentrated on the road at the moment, as he pulled around a corner sharply. 

  


"You know...._go...." _

  


"I think what Kuwabara is trying to say is that he needs to use the restroom." Kurama explained the situation calmly, his red hair blowing wildly in the wind. 

  


"Ohhhh....well, forget it, we don't have time, you're just going to have to hold it until we get to the park." Yusuke said sternly, before screaming, "WHO TAUGHT YOU HOW TO DRIVE, AN INFANT?!?!", at a small silver car that sped past their convertible. 

  


"But Urameshi...." 

  


"NO!!!" 

  


Silence ensued for a second, with only the small sounds of fidgeting, courtesy of Kuwabara. The tall male looked quite upset for a moment, but slowly, a small grin spread across his face as he had a thought... 

  


"A MILLION BOTTLES Of BEER ON THE WALL, A MILLION BOTTLES OF BEER, YOU TAKE ONE DOWN AND PASS IT AROUND-" He burst into song, causing everyone to raise their hands to their ears, except for Yusuke, who was unable to since his were on the steering wheel. 

  


"Okay, okay, there's a gas station coming up, ARE YOU HAPPY????" The dark-haired male cried, immediately turning onto an exit where a gas station was located a little ways down the road. 

  


When they reached the building, Kuwabara practically dove out of the car, running as fast as he possibly could, while everyone who remained in the still-running car sweatdropped.

  


"Unbelievable...." Bronwyn muttered under her breath...

  


*^*^*

  


"I can't believe it! We're FINALLY here!!" Botan chirped, glancing around happily at all there was to see, her amethyst-colored eyes bright with glee. Hanging over the group was a huge banner that read 'WELCOME TO YEMMIN AMUSEMENT PARK!!!'. Past the brightly colored banner laid the most amazing place that any of them had ever seen. Huge rollercoasters towered over the small entrance building, the blood-curling screams echoing through the park from their passengers. A few large buildings that were undoubtedly food courts almost rivaled the amazing height of the rollercoasters, as well as a few of the assorted park rides, such as a free-fall tower and a bungie-jumping area. 

  


"Whoa...." Bronwyn commented nervously, some of her brave attitude temporarily abandoning her. Everything was so...._big....._

  


In an attempt for comfort, she grabbed Hiei's hand, who had meanwhile awoken from his nap and joined the gang outside the amusement park. It seemed as though he was a tad surprised as well, his eyes a tad wider than they usually were. 

  


"Well, what are you guys just standing around for???" Yusuke called from his position right in front of the entrance building, his hands cupped around his mouth so that his friends would be able to hear him. "Come on!!!" 

  


The rest of the group quickly hurried down the walkway to where Yusuke was, just in time to see him hand the tickets to the woman standing in front of the metal bars that blocked the entrance to the park. 

  


"Well, I guess this will be alright...what do you think, Hiei?" Bronwyn asked curiously, though her deep brown eyes remained on the strange place that they were just about to enter. 

  


"....Hiei???" She asked again after a moment, realizing that he hadn't answered her. She finally moved her gaze over to the fire demon, only to grow even more confused. 

  


He was glaring angrily at Kuwabara, who had just grabbed Yukina's hand as they arrived at the spot where Yusuke was standing. The small ice maiden had turned her head and smiled gently at him, though this seemed to upset Hiei even more. 

  


"What's the matter?" The red-head asked quietly, squeezing his hand. Hiei finally removed his gaze from the pair and shook his head, glancing at her for a moment.

  


"Nothing." He spoke firmly, beginning to walk forward, pulling Bronwyn along with him, who was still a little weirded-out. 

  


_What was that.....??_

  


"Okay guys, I already gave them our tickets, now all we gotta do is make it through the metal detector." Yusuke grinned when everyone had reached him. He immediately allowed the park attendant to run the metal detector over him quickly. When she was finished, she smiled brightly and gestured her hand to the open gate. 

  


Next went Kuwabara, who also passed, and then Yukina, and then Kurama, and then Botan....

  


It was then Aiku's turn, but his experience turned out a little different than the others. This time, as the woman moved the detector over him, it started beeping quite loudly.

"Sir, would you please remove any metal items you might be carrying?" She asked him politely, moving away so he would be able to do so. 

  


Sighing heavily, the green-eyed male reluctantly removed his knife, and the female's expression turned a little nervous as he held it up. 

  


"I apologize, but I'll have to confiscate that." She gulped, as if afraid that he would attack her. "You may have it back once you leave the park."

  


"Fine." Without another word, Aiku allowed the sharp blade to fall into her open hand, and she immediately placed it in a small bin. 

  


_Oh crap....._Bronwyn ran her hand softly over her pants pocket where she feel the slightly bulging shape of her knife. She couldn't, wouldn't let this woman take her most valuable possession. 

  


"Who's next?" The attendant asked brightly, having returned to her cheery attitude. She turned towards both Bronwyn and Hiei expectantly. 

  


"Which one of you?" 

  


"I'll go first." The red-head finally announced, letting go of Hiei's hand. She had already schemed a plan in those few seconds, and now headed towards the gate with a confident smile.

  


"Okay, hold still..." Biting her lower lip, the female attendant began to run the detector down and up Bronwyn's body, and sure enough, it began to beep loudly.

  


"Please remove any items made of metal that you might be carrying." She droned, in a voice that suggested she had done this a million times before and was getting sick of it. 

  


"But I don't have any items made of metal." The red-head said innocently, pushing both hands deep into her pockets. 

  


"You must be. These detectors are flawless." She urged, waving the mechanical device in the air. "Now I suggest you empty your pockets....unless you have something to hide...." 

  


"Okay, no need to get upset, I'm doing it." The former assassin said quickly, beginning to pull something out of her pocket...

  


"Oh my god....is someone stealing free peppermints from the ticket desk?!?!" She cried, pointing behind the female attendant, who at this accusation, whipped around in a split-second, wearing a furious expression?

  


"WHERE?!?! Only one per customer!!" 

  


In this moment that the attendant was occupied, Bronwyn whipped out of her knife, and then winking at Yusuke, threw it over the metal barrier to the group of teenagers who had already passed. Everybody immediately moved out of the sharp knife's path to the cement ground, and it ended up slamming against the floor with a sharp clang. 

  


"Hey, there's no one over there!" The girl protested angrily, turning her body back around to face Bronwyn, who only shrugged in a confused fashion. 

  


"Oops. My mistake." She drawled, beginning to tug on a particularly long auburn tendril of her hair playfully. 

  


"......Well, like I was _saying...." _She shook her head, suddenly remembering her train of thought. "You must have something metal." 

  


"And once again, I think you're mistaken. Why don't you check again?" The teenager suggested happily, gesturing towards the metal detector. 

  


"Well....fine, but I don't see what it's going to prove.." Once again, the attendant ran the device up and down Bronwyn's figure, but this time, no metal 'beepbeepbeep' was heard. 

  


"Huh??" 

  


"Like I said, you must have been mistaken." The former assassin shrugged, grinning broadly at the attendant as she walked through the metal bar. 

  


"But-but...." The woman stammered, her surprised gaze drifting from Bronwyn's retreating figure to the metal detector clutched in her hand tightly. After a few moments of utter confusion, she finally shook her head once again, muttering something that drifted along the lines of, 'I hate my job', and then turned towards the last person standing in front of her, which was, of course, Hiei. 

  


"Okay, you're next." She gestured him to walk towards her, holding out the detector once again. The fire demon seemed to hesitate for a moment, and glanced over towards Bronwyn on the other side of the gate, who mouthed the words 'Just do it'

  


"Fine." He said coldly, taking a few steps forward and then standing perfectly still.

  


"Uh, guys...." Kuwabara stammered. "You know....Hiei's sword is made out of metal, isn't it? So that thing...it's gonna beep....right??" 

  


_Oh god...._It suddenly clicked in Bronwyn's mind that the poor, poor attendant was going to try and confiscate Hiei's sword, which could _NOT _be good....

  


"This is not going to turn out well..." She winced, watching as she moved the metal detector up and down Hiei's body. The beeping sound suddenly filled the air, causing the attendant to wince as she realized that she would have to suffer through another 'please remove any metal items' event. 

  


Sighing heavily, she started her boring speech once again to this stranger. "Sir, please remove any metal items you might be carrying." 

  


To her confusion, Hiei seemed to have not acknowledged that she had spoken, even though both of his deep crimson eyes were focused angrily on the dark-haired park attendant as she stared back at him strangely.

  


"Um...did you hear me? You need to hand over any metal items." She repeated cautiously, wondering if the boy in black had any hearing problems so he had not been to hear her. 

  


Silence still ensued, and the woman was beginning to get quite agitated as the black-haired male only continued to glare at her. 

  


_Why won't he say anything?!?! I hate this stupid job, this is so annoying!! I DON'T GET WHAT THE PROBLEM IS!!!_

  


"OKAY, I KNOW YOU HAVE SOME KIND OF METAL ITEMS, WILL YOU JUST TAKE IT OUT SO I CAN SEE IT, YOU IDIOT?!?!?!" Yep. She had finally cracked.

  


"_THAT _was a mistake..." Yusuke winced, and Bronwyn nodded in agreement, hoping that Hiei wouldn't do anything too drastic...

  


"You want to see my metal item???" The fire demon smirked, moving his hand slowly to his side. "Fine. I'll show it to you." 

  


"Good, now-OH MY GOD!!!" The woman had been relieved for a split-second, but she immediately uttered a low cry of surprise as she found herself staring straight at the sharp silver tip of a long sword. 

  


"You're not taking my sword, ningen, so I suggest you back away." Hiei's eyes glinted with anger as he gestured the sword a little closer to the woman's face, which had grown considerably pale in the last few seconds.

  


"I'll...I'll call the police...." She whispered, beads of sweat running down her face as she backed up nervously towards a phone that said 'employee use only' on the far wall of the entrance building. 

  


"Touch that phone and I'll kill you." Before she knew it, Hiei had appeared behind her, still holding the sword up to her body. 

  


"I-I..." That was the only thing that the woman could say before she fainted from the shock of it all. 

  


Hiei only watched with a smirk as her body collapsed to the ground, and without another word, he slid the sword back into its holder in one fluid motion. Bronwyn mirror his smirk as he quietly made his way through the metal bar over to the group, who were all still wide-eyed at what had just happened.

  


"Was that REALLY necessary??" She asked him, crossing her arms in front of her smartly.

  


Hiei remained silent for a moment before answering with a single word.... 

  


"Yes." 

  


*^*^*

  


"Okay guys, what do you wanna do first??" Yusuke asked, holding the unfolded park map up high in front of his face, closely studying all the brightly colored dots and vibrant black lines. 

  


The group of eight was seated in a small café that was located a ways away from the entrance, for obvious reasons. While Yusuke stood in the center of all of the small tables, the rest of the teenagers were seated, obviously taking a quick rest after all they had been through that day. Aiku, Botan, and Kurama were all seated at one of the large tables, chatting nonchalantly as they waited for the Spirit Detective to decide. Hiei and Bronwyn were seated at the table next to them, not really doing much except for staring at Yusuke stupidly, waiting for him to figure out that he had the map upside down. Kuwabara and Yukina had the best seat, though. In the café, there was one table that was located right beside a huge window that practically took up the whole wall and allowed you to see a great deal of the park. Kuwabara had insisted that Yukina receive that seat. 

  


"I wonder when that baka will realize that he's not going to get anywhere with that map turned the wrong way, huh, Hiei?" Bronwyn giggled, turning her gaze towards the fire demon. 

  


To her confusion once again, though, Hiei's stare was focused on something else entirely. Bronwyn curiously followed the path that his eyes were aimed at only to see Kuwabara and Yukina's table. She watched as the carrot topped adolescent ran his large fingers over Yukina's delicate hand, though she seemed to be ignoring it, instead staring out the window. The red-head swore that she could hear Hiei gritting his teeth at the sight.

  


"_Now _what's the matter?" 

  


"Nothing." Hiei repeated, rising from his seat abruptly. "I'll be back in a moment." He spoke quietly, and before Bronwyn could ask him where he was going, he had disappeared from her sight. 

  


_I don't get it...why he is so upset about Kuwabara and Yukina? Seems like a stupid thing to get mad about...._

  


"Hello Bronwyn!!" The red-head's thought process was shattered as Botan's cheery voice rang through her ears. She glanced up from the metallic surface of the table only to watch as the Grim Reaper plopped into the seat that Hiei had been previously occupying, wearing a grin.

  


"Having fun?" She chirped. 

  


"Not really...." She paused a moment, her face reflecting that she had dropped back into deep thoughts for a moment. 

  


"Botan....do you know why Hiei acts so weird whenever Kuwabara and Yukina act together?" 

  


Asking this, though, did nothing to decrease confusion, as Botan's face suddenly took on a bright shade of pink and she began to laugh nervously. 

  


"Oh, that....no, I don't know why....why would you think I would know anything?" The blue-haired girl giggled, trying to hide the fact that she was terribly uncomfortable. She had been sure that Hiei would of told Bronwyn about Yukina....

  


"I dunno, I'm just curious...he seems to not like it when Kuwabara tries to touch Yukina. But I don't understand that, I mean, he seems to never talk to Yukina, so why does he care about what happens to her...?"

  


"Well, if you had a little sister, you would try and protect her, now wouldn't you??" Botan giggled loudly, not even realizing what she was saying.

  


Silence ensued for a moment, as Bronwyn's brown eyes grew wide. 

  


"WHAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTT?!?!?!"

  


Finally realizing what she had just let slip, the amethyst-eyed girl's hand immediately flew to her mouth, but it was obviously too late. 

  


"You-you mean that....Hiei and Yukina are...." Bronwyn stuttered, not being able to comprehend what she had just discovered. 

  


Botan only sighed heavily, nodding. "Yukina doesn't know, though. Hiei doesn't want to tell her, so keep a tight lip, alright??" 

  


"But...WHY?!?! Why...didn't he tell me....?" 

  


Botan only shrugged, helpless to answer that certain question. "I was wondering as well..." 

  


_W-why wouldn't he trust me enough to keep his 'secret'???_

  


"Oh, don't feel bad, Bronwyn!!" Botan cried, noticing that the girl's expression had become a little dark. "He probably had....a good reason....." 

  


"No he didn't. He just didn't think I was trustworthy enough." Botan was a little surprised by how cold Bronwyn's voice had suddenly become. "Well...I'll teach him to keep secrets from me..." She announced, her face suddenly breaking out into a broad smirk. 

  


"What...what are you going to do, Bronwyn?" 

  


"I was thinking along the lines of....a practical joke..." The girl drawled, leaning back considerably in the chair she was seated in. 

  


Botan opened her mouth to answer, but her gaze was suddenly pulled off of Bronwyn to over her shoulder, and her purple-colored eyes grew quite wide. "Well, you better figure out what you're going to do quickly, because here he comes..." She whispered, rising from the café chair, and then waving a nervous good-bye before heading back over to her own table. 

  


Hiei sat back down without one word, and Bronwyn's deep chocolate-colored eyes followed his every movement, her mind filled with thoughts of her idea. _If I can pull this off, I'll teach Hiei not to keep secrets from me anymore...plus, it will be as funny as hell...but it has to be just right, or it won't work..._

  


_Here it goes.._

  


As casually as possible, Bronwyn placed both of her elbows on the table, moving her gaze slowly over to the table where Kuwabara and Yukina were seated. 

  


"You know....Yukina's quite pretty...." She began tentatively. Hiei arched an eyebrow at the strange comment, and he turned his gaze in the same direction as Bronwyn's, though he remained silent.

  


"Hey, I just noticed something....you two...kind of...look alike..." 

  


Hiei's head immediately turned back to face Bronwyn, his eyes a tad wider then they had been a second ago.

  


"What makes you say that?" He asked, though his voice sounded a little bit...strange....

  


"I dunno...you both are the same height....and your eyes are like, the exact same color...." She commented curiously, pretending to focus intently on the small ice koorime, as well as pretending not to notice that Hiei seemed to be growing quite nervous...

  


"You know..." She began slowly, "If I didn't know any better, I would think that you guys were brother or sister, or something like that!" She ended this sentence with a loud giggle, in a fashion that suggested that the mere thought of the idea was silly. 

  


Hiei on the other hand, was frozen in his spot, not being able to comprehend that Bronwyn had just unknowingly stumbled upon his secret. The red-head's expression grew confused as she watched a small bead of sweat run down the side of Hiei's head.

  


"Why...are you acting so weird...?? I mean...it's not like you guys actually are related...are you...?" If Bronwyn had been able to at that point, she would of burst out laughing at the mere sight of Hiei's face. His expression was priceless, and the female wished for nothing more than to possess a camera to capture the moment. 

  


Hiei still remained silent, unmoving. Bronwyn decided at that moment to pretend like she had just figured it out on her own. 

  


"YOU ARE?!?!?!" She screeched, slamming her hands on the metal surface of the table. 

  


"Well...." Hiei began, but before he could say anything else, Bronwyn interrupted him once more, her face filled to the brim with surprise. 

  


"Does Yukina know about this?!?!?! Wait, of course she does, I mean, she must know that you're her brother, right??" She stared at Hiei expectantly, waiting for an answer, but the fire demon only cast a temporary glance at Yukina before dropping his gaze to the tile floor. 

  


"No..." He whispered, his voice nearly non-existent.

  


"Well, then, she'll have to know, won't she?? I'm going to tell her right now!!!" With that said, Bronwyn immediately rose from the table, and sprinted over towards the table seated by the large window where the ice koorime was located.

  


"Bronwyn, no!" Hiei rose from the table as well, but it was already too late. He watched nervously as the red-head whispered something eagerly in Yukina's ear, and then to make matters worse, lifted a single finger and pointed straight at Hiei. 

  


He couldn't believe it. His secret was out in the open. How had Bronwyn figured it out?!?!

  


He couldn't think about that at the moment though, because Yukina rose from her seat, and, staring curiously at Hiei, began to slowly walk towards him, each footstep she took echoing relentlessly through his ears. 

  


_She knows...I can tell...._

  


The poor fire demon could only watch helplessly as his sister continued moving towards him, closer and closer, about to confront him on the secret she had just discovered...what was he going to say to her??? 

  


She finally stopped her paces directly in front of him, and for a moment, everything was dead silent before Yukina finally spoke up. 

  


"Hiei...why didn't you tell me?" She spoke quietly, her crimson eyes burning straight into his soul. 

  


"Yukina..." Was all he could mutter...

  


"If you had wanted to sit by the window, you could of just asked me!!!"

  


.........................................................................(silence).......................................... 

  


"What?!?" Hiei cried, obviously confused. What the hell was she talking about???

  


"Yes, Bronwyn told me that you wanted to sit by the large window." She gestured behind her towards the red-haired girl, who was wearing a broad grin as she waved at Hiei wildly. 

  


_Bronwyn......_

  


"Whatever did you think she told me??" Yukina questioned him, a little confused by his strange behavior. 

  


"...nothing." He muttered quietly, shooting a venomous glare at Bronwyn, who was heading back towards the two, wearing a huge smile. 

  


"Yukina, Kuwabara wants you to go back over there." She informed the small ice maiden, who nodded at her words.

  


"Alright....I'm sorry about the misunderstanding, Hiei..." She said gently before walking back over towards the carrot-topped teenager, who was waiting eagerly for her to return to him. 

  


Both Hiei and Bronwyn remained completely silent for a moment, watching Yukina return to her seat and begin to talk to Kuwabara once more. When she was completely sure that the petite girl wouldn't be able to hear anything they said from then on, Bronwyn took this time, to burst into deafening laughter, much to Hiei's dismay.

  


"OH MY GOD, YOU SHOULD OF SEEN YOUR FACE!!! YOU LOOKED HILARIOUS!!!" She gasped, tears of laughter rolling down her face as she slammed her fist on the table rambunctiously. 

  


"Will you shut up?!?" Hiei growled, understandably angry that he had been tricked. 

  


"You really think that I would tell Yukina your secret?!?!" 

  


The fire demon didn't acknowledge the question, instead turning away from Bronwyn in a solemn fashion.

  


"How...how did you know?" He asked firmly. 

  


Bronwyn ceased her laughter momentarily so she could answer the question, though her expression had turned into a slightly angry one. "Botan had to tell me. You know, I would expect, considering our relationship and all, that you would tell me things!! But I guess you don't trust me, huh?" She sneered, crossing her arms furiously. 

  


"It's not that....I didn't want anyone to know, but that baka toddler told everyone." He explained, his voice resonating a icy emotion. "It wasn't because I didn't trust you." 

  


Bronwyn remained silent, speechless from this sudden explanation. After a moment, though, a smile slowly began to spread across her face. 

  


"Aww, does Hiei need a hug?" Without waiting for a reply, she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and gave him a nice, big, hug, meanwhile whispering, "Don't you feel better now??" 

  


Before Hiei could answer her, Yusuke's voice suddenly rang through the café, causing everyone to look up from what they were doing over to the Spirit Detective, who was jumping up and down, waving the amusement park map wildly in the air. 

  


"Okay, guys, we've finally decided on what we're doing first!!" He cheered, "We're going on the rollercoaster!!" 

  


Everyone erupted in pleased cheers, glad with the decision....well, everyone except Hiei, who appeared to be a little confused. 

  


_What the hell is a 'rollercoaster'???_

  


^*^*^*^

  


Heeheehee, you have got to admit that was pretty hilarious! God, I love Bronwyn^^

  


And neeexxxxtttt chapter...

  


*Watch Hiei face the rollercoaster O_O...........*

  


*Bronwyn's in deep trouble!! But her rescuer might not be who you expect...*

  


Just so you all know...TODAY'S MY BIRTHDAY!!! JANUARY FIFTH!!!! I'M SO HAPPY!!!

  


Please leave me a review as a birthday present^^

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


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	8. Chapter Eight: Surprising Events

Yes, after about two months, it's here. Sorry for the delay, but I've got a ton of stuff I'm trying to do at the moment, plus writer's block...

....Too tired to write a proper author's note. Too tired to write a disclaimer. 

Oh, you can live without one...

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Gigantic chunks of metal pieced together so unsteadily that it looked as though they would fall apart any minute. 

Bright yellow and pink colors smeared all over the entrance booth, as well as the ride itself. 

Thousands of screaming ningens, filling every inch of space with their rambunctious laughter and cheery dispositions. Not to mention their vomit, which was all over the cement floor. 

It was Hiei's worst nightmare, by far.

"Come on, guys, we've gotta get in line!!" Yusuke cheered, sprinting straight towards the entrance area that would lead him and the rest of the gang to the 'Viper': The country's fastest, scariest, and most vomit-inducing rollercoaster. 

Well...at least that was what the huge cardboard cut-out positioned next to the line of eager people said. Except for the part about throw-up, but Bronwyn could make that accusation just by smelling the air. 

_Oh, joy..._

"Hey, you two coming, or are you just gonna let us have all the fun?" Aiku waved from the end of the long line leading up to the loading dock, along with the rest of the group, who were all eagerly waiting for the line to move forward. 

"Are you ready, Hiei?" Bronwyn asked him curiously, glancing over at the fire demon, whose face remained emotionless as his crimson eyes flitted over the attraction, trying to decide whether he would go or not...his dilemma was quickly solved when the high-pitched screams emitting from the ecstatic people aboard the ride as it roared over the track right above their heads rang against his ears. 

"You go." He finally spoke, taking a single step backwards. __

"What?" The red-haired girl asked, who had averted her attention back to the brightly colored booth, turned her head to beside her, wearing a slightly surprised expression.

"I said you can go. I'll wait." Hiei repeated himself, leaning against the side of a bench situated next to the entrance booth. 

Bronwyn remained quiet, only staring at the fire demon with a confused expression. Suddenly, though, a smirk flickered onto her face, and she nodded in a knowing sort of way, much to Hiei's confusion. 

"You're scared." It wasn't a question, but rather a blunt statement. Hiei abruptly raised his gaze from the cement ground over to Bronwyn, his eyes suddenly holding an angry glaze. 

"I'm not scared." He spoke sternly.

The red-head only shook her head playfully at his words, raising her arm up only to allow her fingers to dance playfully across Hiei's shoulder. "Oh, Hiei, Hiei, Hiei...just let it go. Everyone's scared of something...you just happen to fear rollercoasters." She drawled, which only seemed to infuriate the fire demon even more.

"Like I just told you, I'm _NOT _scared. I don't want to go on some ningen machine." He retorted angrily, but this egged Bronwyn on even more. 

"Chicken...bwack bwack bwack!!" She cried, starting to flap her arms in the fashion that a bird did, attracting the attention of several people in line, including the gang, who were wondering what the heck she was doing.

"....FINE!!!"

Bronwyn's chicken dance was suddenly interrupted by Hiei's firm grasp around her arm as he yanked her roughly behind him to the front of the long line, followed by many yells of protest from disgruntled people who were already waiting for their turn. 

"Hey, buddy, you might be too stupid to notice, but the line starts BACK THERE!!!" One exceptionally loud male screamed at the fire demon. A glare of pure evil, courtesy of Hiei, though, caused him to immediately grow dead silent, along with everyone else in line who had been complaining. 

Bronwyn only smirked at their childish behavior, averting her gaze to the silver-colored loading area just as the long connected row of cars practically flew down the track, screeching to an abrupt halt right beside the line of eager humans. The air was immediately filled to the brim with rambunctious screams of joy, emitting from the passengers aboard the coaster. As the ecstatic people filed out of the ride, the attendant gestured for Bronwyn and Hiei to step forward. 

"Go on, Hiei..." Bronwyn whispered playfully, shoving him forward a few steps. 

"I'm going." He sneered, though his steps did seem to hold a bit of cautiousness as he came to a stop right beside the empty car, his expression a tad blank. Bronwyn immediately took notice of his confusion, but only uttered a low chuckle as she jumped into the car and lowered herself into one of the small seats. 

Hiei remained quiet for a moment, and then suddenly made a sharp u-turn, heading back towards the line. 

"I think Yukina is calling for help..." He whispered, trying to make a break for the walkway outside the loading track, but his escape was foiled by Bronwyn as she grabbed his arm abruptly and pulled him into the car. 

"Oh no, you don't! You're going on this even if I have to tie you down!" She smirked, pulling him into the seat next to hers. When he was situated correctly, she then proceeded to pull down the overhead safety bars down until they both fit into place with a satisfying click. She then turned towards Hiei, who looked more confused now than ever. 

"All you have to do is pull it down until it clicks." She explained patiently, gesturing the motions in the way they needed to be done. As the fire demon followed suit, Bronwyn found herself smiling as her chocolate brown eyes caught on a similar scene a few cars behind their's, of a little boy being instructed by his mother on how to pull the bars down himself. The similarities of her's and their event amused her, and she allowed her gaze to return to Hiei, who was all strapped in finally. 

"Are you ready?" She asked quietly, noticing his cautious expression as his crimson-tinted eyes traveled all around the loading track, the experience obviously a tad overwhelming. _He's just like a little child...._

"Hn." Was all he would mutter, both hands gripped tightly around the bars on each side of his head. Truth be told, the fire demon was actually, slightly, maybe-kind of-sorta....uptight. Not _nervous, _but uptight. And the deafening screams of "GO, HIEI!!! YOU CAN DO IT!!!" From Yusuke and company were not really helping.

The cars suddenly lurched forward abruptly, causing him to cease his death glares on his so-called 'friends' and instead avert his gaze to in front of him, where he could see a dark tunnel approaching quickly. 

"What's going on?" He questioned Bronwyn tentatively as the cars plunged into dark oblivion. Glancing behind him, he watched as the bright light from the loading area grew smaller and smaller as the cars rumbled through the tunnel, clicking and clacking noises abundant. 

"The ride's starting." The red-head whispered in a 'you idiot' sort of tone. Hiei would of said something in retort, but the cars suddenly screeched out of the tunnel into the broad sunlight of the afternoon, causing him to go temporarily blind. 

Blinking wildly, the first thing that caught the demon's gaze when he was able to see again was the ground..way down below him. The track was steadily situated in a diagonal position, and the cars were rising higher and higher with each passing moment. Taking a deep breath, he turned his gaze back up and over to Bronwyn, who looked the farthest from being scared as was possible, as she fidgeted excitedly in her seat.

"Aren't you excited, Hiei??" She asked, her cheeks a bright red shade as she met his gaze. 

"How could I get excited on something as idiotic as this?" He sneered, tilting his head so he could glance up at the clear blue sky. Anything that would keep his eyes from wondering down below him...

Too happy to counter his comment with her own, Bronwyn only continued to bounce around as much as she could as the cars kept slowly rolling higher and higher, and just as Hiei had thought that they would of had to enter heaven itself to go any further, the movements suddenly stopped, the cars reaching a standstill.

"Hey, we're about to go down!!" The red-head screeched, as various others did as well, raising their arms above their heads. 

"Wait, what do you mean do-" It was the last thing that Hiei had been able to utter before the wind sucked his breath straight out of him as the coaster plunged...

*^*^*

Screams of joy were quite evident as the cars finally screeched into the loading dock once again, coming to a halt right beside the long line once again. As the safety bars were released, everyone immediately shuffled out, chattering excitedly amongst themselves about how they had loved the ride. 

Well, almost everyone....

"Hiei...?" Bronwyn had jumped out as well, wearing an unusually large grin. She had actually enjoyed the human ride very much, and was even thinking of getting back in line to experience it again...she had been turning to leave when she realized that she was by herself. Turning back towards the car she had just left, she was surprised to see Hiei still seated, crimson eyes wide. 

"Are you okay?" She asked tentatively, reaching out her hand to him, as a mother would to her child. He stared at it for a moment before grabbing it tightly and allowing her to pull him up out of the ride. 

"I'm fine..." He finally whispered, though 'fine' was probably the farthest from how he actually felt. There was a strange pain inside of him...he had no idea where it was coming from, but he was sure that he had never experienced it before...

"Sure?" Chocolate-colored eyes inspected the fire demon carefully, watching as he took a step forward, and then stumbled slightly before regaining his balance. 

"I...I...it feels like something is trying to...break out of me..." He spoke slowly, confused. What had that ningen ride DONE to him? 

Bronwyn only stared at him for a moment before a look of recognition flickered onto her face. "Uh, Hiei, come here..." Grabbing onto his arm, she pulled him over to the side of the exit, where a large trash can was located. "Just..stand here for a minute." She took a step back in a cautious fashion, seemingly waiting for something...

"What is this f-" The sentence was abruptly cut off as Hiei was unable to control the sensation any longer...

Meanwhile, back in line, Yusuke watched the spectacle curiously, and snickering quietly, shook his head.

"Guess the teachers were right 'bout you learn something new every day...never knew that demons could throw up..."

^*^

"Guys, are you sure we were smart in leaving Hiei at the medical ward?"

"What else could we do, Bronwyn? The nurse insisted...and besides, he's too sick to fight them...who knew he had such a weak stomach?" 

"I sure didn't..." 

"Plus, it'll take forever to get all that stuff off his cloak...he kind of missed the trash can..." 

After making the decision to turn Hiei over to the medical tent so they could give him some medicine and clean him off, the group had decided to split up and do what each wanted. Botan and Kurama had both been interested in seeing a special magic exhibit, while Yukina and Kuwabara had headed off to ride the ferris wheel. That had left Bronwyn, Yusuke, and Aiku to explore the remainder of the park. 

"Hey, look...." Bronwyn raised a finger to point out a swinging ship a few yards away, as the ship portion rose high into the air for a moment before shooting back down out of the teenager's view. "That looks fun." 

Both males shrugged, obviously not too interested in anything as they trodded along behind the female lazily. 

Cocking her head to shoot them both a disgruntled look, she returned her gaze to the front just as they approached a large bridge, arched over quite a wide body of water, resembling some sort of lake. 

"Get a load of this..." She chided, gesturing at a large metal sign right beside the bridge's beginning. It read in bold red print...'_Water is deep; Be careful while crossing' _

"Yeah, like someone's actually going to fall in..." Yusuke joked, as the trio strolled past the sign onto the bridge, not even giving it a second gaze. 

Bronwyn nodded in agreement, smirking as she gazed over the side curiously. The water did look pretty deep, its surface a dark blue tint. "You practically would have to throw yourself in just to do so..." She added, averting her eyes back to the front.

"Hey, Wyn, I've got a dare for you..." Aiku turned towards the former assassin, wearing a small smirk as he fingered the bottom of his jacket disinterestedly. "I'd like to see you get up on the side here and walk all the way to the end..." He placed a hand on the narrow concrete slab. 

Bronwyn only stared at the black-haired male for a moment before nodding, wearing a smug expression. "Sure, why not?" Without another word uttered, she had hopped up onto the surface, and taking a moment to situate her footing, rose to a standing position. 

"Nothin' to it." She whispered, walking casually beside the two men, though she was a few feet higher off the ground than the both of them. Except for the occasional stumble, she managed to fulfill the dare with ease. 

"You owe me something for this, Aiku..." She commented quietly, brushing a loose tendril of auburn hair away from her face. The three were about to reach the halfway mark of the bridge.

Meanwhile, Yusuke had been quiet for a while, the only noises emitting from him being the slurping sounds as he drank the soda he had bought back before they had started across the bridge. Walking ahead of Aiku, though only barely, he had been watching the swinging move up and down swiftly before a metal glint on the ground had caught his eye. Bending over to inspect the object, he cursed as he saw that it was only a bottlecap. "Was sure it was money..."

"How 'bout a soda?" Aiku offered, keeping his gaze on Bronwyn as he continued to walk forward. "After all, it's only-oof!!" Having not kept his eyes in front of him, the teenager had crashed straight into Yusuke, who, in shock, lost his grip on the soda. Trying to not let it drop, he swung it forward, causing quite a bit to splash onto Bronwyn's shirt. 

Letting out a startled yelp, the female took a step back...only to find that no solid surface rested behind her. 

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion...she found herself in the air, her feet no longer on the concrete of the bridge...she was falling, falling fast...

Her body's harsh impact onto the frigid lake caused her to try and scream, but she only inhaled a considerable amount of water...what had happened to the air? Where was the surface?

It suddenly struck her.

_She couldn't swim._

*^*

"Sorry, Yusuke..." Aiku laughed jokingly, brushing off a few drops of soda that had gotten on the boy's shirt. 

"Dun' worry about it..." The spirit detective mimicked Aiku's harmless chuckle, finally turning towards the side of the bridge once again. "I'm sorry I spilled soda on you, B-...Bronwyn?" The area where the red-head had just been standing was strangely empty now. 

Before the two males had time to realize what had happened, a loud splash alerted both to the body of water directly below them, just in time to see a spray of water fly directly up, signaling that something or someone had just hit the surface.

"Bronwyn!!!"

Before Yusuke could even make a move of action, Aiku had already ripped his jacket off, thrusting it into the raven-haired teenager's arms, wearing a panicked expression.

"Aiku, what are you doing? It's only water!!!" He reminded his friend, wondering why the male was getting so worked up over a little fall into a lake...

"Wyn can't swim, you baka!!!!" Aiku snapped at him venomously. "You need to get help!!!" Before Yusuke could say anything in retort, the boy was already sprinting down the remainder of the bridge, and rounding the corner leading to the shoreline of the lake, practically dove right into the water. 

"....right!!" 

Snapping into action, the spirit detective started running towards the main area of the park, screaming for help the entire way...

^*^

_No..._

_Not here..._

_Not now..._

Flailing her arms and legs wildly, Bronwyn cursed herself silently for never learning how to swim in her eighteen years of existence. 

She tilted her head up towards the surface of the water in vain. She could see the rays of bright sunlight filtering down, splaying onto its blue tint. She wanted to reach it so badly, but...it was too far away...

_I can't breathe..._

_I'm actually going to die..._

Not being able to hold her breath any longer, she opened her mouth, allowing her lungs to open, only to have water flow straight into them.

Bright lights were beginning to flicker..

Her motions were growing less frequent...

_It's over...._

Suddenly, out of nowhere, she felt a tight grasp around her wrist. Without warning, her whole body was abruptly yanked upward by an unknown force...

_Am I going to heaven? _ Even her thought was faint as she felt herself pulled, to where, she did not know...

Her head suddenly burst out into the surface unexpectedly, causing her to gasp for air....there was air, so much of it that it felt like she needed every bit of it in her lungs...

"Hold onto my shoulders." 

A firm voice suddenly broke into her thoughts unexpectedly, scaring her for a few fleeting moments before her mind registered the identity of the person...

_Aiku...wait a second..AIKU?!?!_

"Bronwyn, I swam all the way out here to save you, now grab onto my shoulders and I'll swim you to shore!!" His voice was beginning to sound agitated. Her eyelids clamped shut, she groped forward, finally landing a wary hand on his drenched shirt. Slowly situating her hands around his neck so as to be secure, she stayed still as she felt him abruptly begin to swim forward, not uttering another word to the red-head.

"Aiku...why did you....?" Her voice was but a hoarse croak, her vocal cords unable to generate anything louder. 

The black-haired adolescent remained silent for a second or so before uttering a small chuckle. "Did you really think that I was just gonna let you drown?" He laughed, continuing his heavy strokes, the extra weight appearing to be no problem for him.

_Aiku...._

"You've got a pretty big audience waiting..." He commented as an afterthought. 

Still staring into the dark oblivion of her eyelids, Bronwyn finally persuaded herself to cautiously open them, only to be blinded by the sunlight temporarily. After the shock had worn down, she averted her gaze towards the shoreline, where she could see at least twenty people waiting eagerly for Aiku to reach them. She recognized Botan, Kurama, Kuwabara, and Yukina, all wearing panicked expressions. Moving her gaze onward, she could see a whole group of park attendants, standing knee-deep in the water, their arms outstretched, as was Yusuke. The remainder seemed to only be visitors to the park, their interest caught by the incident. 

The water eventually started to recede, and before Bronwyn knew it, she had been snatched from Aiku's back and was now being lead hurriedly up the shoreline, a large blanket having been wrapped around her. 

Though she was practically surrounded by friends and strangers alike, all demanding to know what had happened, the red-head still managed to catch a glimpse of Aiku a yard or so behind her, trying to wring water out of his shirt, though the mission seemed to be in vain.

_Thank-you..._

^*^

"Would you like something to drink, miss?" A kind male park attendant questioned the female who was seated on the small coat. 

"No, thank-you." 

Bronwyn watched with drooped brown-tinted eyes as the worker carefully exited the small room, leaving the girl to pure silence, save her own thoughts. 

_He saved me..._

Sighing, she shook her head side to side roughly for a moment, casting soaking wet strands of auburn hair across her face, water droplets spraying in every direction...

"How did you manage to fall into the lake?" 

The cold voice caused the female to abruptly cock her head towards the source of the voice, only to see Hiei, wearing his trademark smirk as his crimson eyes traveled up and down the girl's body, surveying the damage.

"How...how did you know I fell in the lake?" She questioned him warily, her voice only a whisper. She managed to take note of the fact that he wasn't wearing his cloak any longer, the sleeveless black shirt now the only thing on his back. _He must of practically ruined that cloak..._She thought to herself, managing to smile for the first time since the incident. 

"I watched it happen." He stated, as if he was telling someone that he had seen a bird fly by. 

The comment caught Bronwyn off-guard, to say the least. "You saw me fall and you didn't even think about helping me?!?!" She practically screamed at the fire demon, her cheeks bright red with anger. It hardly seemed to faze Hiei, though.

"I thought you could take care of yourself. I didn't know you couldn't swim." He said, turning to leave. Before Bronwyn could say something in return, the door had already swished shut behind him with a satisfying click. 

_He...he didn't even think about helping me..._

She could only stare at the closed door blankly for a moment, not fully comprehending what she had just learned. She finally just shook her head, turning her attention towards the creme-colored wall situated in front of her as she sat on the small cot in the medical ward.

_And Aiku did..._

Sighing, she closed her eyes, unable to take in any more of what was going on around her. It was all just too much to think about at the moment...

All she wanted to do was sleep...

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Nine pages. It's a lot shorter than my last chapter, but let's face it, that thing was huge. 

^^Some interesting things are taking place, alright...is there trouble in paradise??^^

And yes, I know this chapter was awful...I'm in the middle of a bout of writer's block, but managed to break through it temporarily to write this. And I couldn't think of a freaking ending...

Oh well...Please review!! Hopefully, I'll get over WB soon...^^

  
  
  
  



	9. Chapter Nine:Comforting and Manipulation

Yes, thank-you, I know it's been a while...sorry. ;;

But it's finally done, at least...took me a few days.

Just to warn you, this isn't the most exciting of chapters, though it does contain some manipulation and stuff...;; So enjoy to the best of your ability.

**-CHAPTER NINE-**

_'Did you really think I was just gonna let you drown?'_

_'I thought you could take care of yourself. I didn't know you couldn't swim...'_

"Bronwyn?"

A pair of chocolate-brown immediately snapped open at the abrupt noise, having been absorbed in pure thought. Cautiously, they floated over to the door of the bedroom just as a light knock emitted from the other side.

"I brought you some laundry..." Shiori chirped, a few assorted shirts and other articles of clothing clutched in her hand. There was silence on the other side before she heard a low cough, followed quickly by "Come in.", spoken only in a low whisper.

The middle-aged woman smiled warmly at this before using her free hand to twist the golden knob and open the door. The bedroom was slightly cluttered, a few hangers, as well as dirty laundry sprawled over the clean white carpet. The blankets on the bed were pushed messily to the end, it seemed, deliberately, and at the head, sat Bronwyn, her slender arms wrapped tightly around her scrunched-up legs as she stared blankly at the creme-colored wall situated in front of her, still in her pajamas.

Shiori's smile seemed to fade after seeing all of this at once, and her eyes gained a glint of worry as she observed the red-head's glazed-over expression, red tendrils of hair strewn messily all over her head. She didn't comment on it, though, instead walking cautiously over to the closet, where she carefully placed a few loaded hangers on the rack. When that was taken care of, she turned back around to face the silent girl.

"Is something the matter?" She finally asked tentatively, carefully striding over to beside the bed. Bronwyn didn't even seem to acknowledge that she was present, not even moving in the least. She continued to only stare wide-eyed at the wall, which caused Shiori to grow even more worried.

"Bronwyn, is something troubling you?....Bronwyn!" She finally spoke firmly, which seemed to cause the girl to snap out of her trance, jumping a bit at the noise. "...huh?" She finally muttered, lazily turning her head towards Shiori.

"Is something wrong?" The woman asked once more, in a delicate tone. Bronwyn only stared at her for a moment before shaking her head softly. "No, everything's...fine....there's just a lot for me to think about..." That was true, what with what had occured yesterday, plus the dream, which had begun to worm its way back into her thoughts, no matter how hard she tried to keep it at bay.

Shiori smiled, raising her hand to pat the girl's knee in a comforting fashion. "Shuichi told me you had an eventful day yesterday..." She commented quietly, as though the mere mention of it would upset her. "I can understand if you've been...a bit traumatized by everything that happ-"

"Oh, no!" She was suddenly cut off by Bronwyn's hurried words, in an attempt to set the situation straight. "I swear, I'm just fine! It felt like I just went for a swim...only my entrance into the lake was a bit scary..." She left out the fact that she had no earthly idea how to swim and had been panicking like hell the entire time. Those were only unimportant details.

"Are you sure?" Shiori asked worriedly, a sympathizing expression resting on her face. "Because if you ever need to talk to me about anything, I'd love to listen...you really shouldn't leave feelings and fears bottled up inside...it will help more if you share them with others."

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm fine." Bronwyn whispered briskly, even though what Shiori said made her think about her traumatic dream. It had been driving her crazy, what with having it that second time and all, and the only reason she hadn't been driven to the brink of insanity was because of her episode at the amusement park and Hiei's behavior towards her, which still pissed her off. But that didn't mean she still didn't worry about him...and what if.....if.....

She immediately cocked her head up towards the door, which Shiori was just about to close behind her. "Wait!" She cried, realizing what she needed to do to make her feel at least a tad better; tell someone about her dreams.

The woman froze at the cry, the door only half-shut. "Yes?" She asked, her cheery attitude still present.

"I...do you think I could talk to you about something?" She inhaled deeply after saying this; if it wasn't blatantly obvious, she really disliked spilling her guts out to another, and only did it rarely. But this time...it felt like something that just had to be done, for her sanity's sake.

Shiori smiled brightly. "Of course." She walked back over to the bed, sitting down on the edge and then proceeding to stare expectantly at Bronwyn, who felt on the spot suddenly.

"Well...I was just needing some advice..." She said slowly, "A while back, I had this really strange dream...someone important to me was killed." She glanced up at Shiori expectantly to see her reaction to this, but she was only nodding, listening intently. "I...I really didn't much of it, but then...a few nights ago, I had the exact same dream."

"Mm-hm..." Shiori said quietly, seeming to absorb the information given to her. Bronwyn paused a moment, staring down at her knees. "But...I was wondering...since I had this dream twice...do you think it means something? That it might really happen?" There, she had asked, and actually, it hadn't sounded as stupid as she had expected it to. Now she just had to wait to hear Shiori's reaction.

The middle-aged woman didn't even waste a second. "Well, maybe...but maybe not..." She commented airily, looking to be still analyzing the problem. "You can never really be sure. There ARE a few dreams you have that actually happen or will actually happen, but most are...well, silly." She laughs quietly at this, which seems to calm Bronwyn's nerves a bit.

"So...you're saying that I shouldn't be worried?" She asked hopefully, finally raising her arms off her knees and stretching her legs out in front of her.

"Well..." Shiori tentatively whispers, her smile beginning to fade slightly. "I wouldn't say that. This reminds me of a friend of mine...once, she had a dream that her husband was going to be hit by a car through his own carelessness, but, thinking it was only a silly dream, didn't bother to mention it to him. Later that day, he was talking on his cellphone so much that he accidentally walked straight into traffic and was hit by a convertible. Thankfully, he lived, but my friend always pays more attention to her dreams now."

"So...you're saying that I SHOULD be worried?" Bronwyn asked, her attitude beginning to take on a gloomy turn, allowing her head to fall back on the pillow.

"Well, no, your problem might not be anything like my friend's. But...if she would of just told her husband about the dream, then maybe he would of been a bit more careful..."

"...yeah, he probably would have...so?"

Shiori uttered a small chuckle at that. "What I suggest is that maybe you should tell this person who's dying in you dreams about them. Warn them that maybe they should keep an eye out for any danger that may befall them..."

"But won't I sound like an idiot? What if it doesn't even happen? He'll think I'm crazy..."

More quiet laughter. "That's a chance you need to take. The point is that...what if you decide to not tell him about it, and he ends up dying? Wouldn't you feel awful about not informing him in the first place?"

"Yeah..."

"Then tell him. If you don't, and something happens, you'll regret it for the rest of your life..." Shiori, finished with her inspiring speech, proceeded to pat Bronwyn's knee kindly before rising from her seated position.

"...Thanks." Bronwyn muttered. The word felt foreign on her tongue...Not surprisingly, she didn't speak it too often.

"You're welcome. Did I help you at all?" Shiori asked, now standing at the door, hands clasped together in front of her.

"Yes...a lot, actually." The red-head abruptly stuttered, Shiori's words beginning to sink in...after all, they HAD made a lot of sense. She'd probably never, EVER forgive herself if Hiei was killed, and she was actually, in a way, responsible....She shuddered just thinking about it.

Shiori smiled warmly. "Glad to help you. I'll be downstairs if you need me for anything else." She said briskly, before turning towards the door. Right before she vacated, though, she turned back towards Bronwyn. "Oh yes, I forgot...have you seen Aiku? He wasn't on the couch when I woke up this morning...I hope he didn't get into trouble."

"Nope, haven't seen him..." _And don't really care to..._She had almost added, but had stopped herself in time.

"Well, alright. But if you do, tell me." And with that, she was gone, down the hallway, and it wasn't soon before Bronwyn heard her padded footsteps making their way down the stairs.

Heaving a large sigh, she brought her gaze to the ceiling fan directly above her as it spun around and around and around and-She shook her head, beginning to feel a tad dizzy. And she really didn't need that at the moment. After all, Shiori's speech was still fresh in her mind..._tell him. If you don't, and something happens, you'll regret it for the rest of your life..._

_You'll regret it...._

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

The seasons seemed to be passing quickly in Japan that year, for some odd reason. The temperature was dropping more drastically than usual, sometimes so quickly, that the foliage wasn't prepared and instead wilted and died right then and there.

It wasn't like Hiei cared, though. It was just the fact that most of the leaves on the trees he chose to sleep in were beginning to shrivel and make camp on the forest floor. And that meant that when it those ice-cold rain showers began to occur, he was going to have no shelter.

He could always just hang around Kurama's house, he reminded himself. They wouldn't care...he could always either have a talk with the kitsune, or....just stay in the bedroom with Bronwyn.

He found himself smirking at that thought. There was always time for that later, though...right now, the weather was downright brisk, the afternoon sun's bright rays filtering through the dark brown branches of the trees. Perfect variables for a nap.

Pulling himself into a comfortable position on the branch, he slowly allowed his head to rest on the tree trunk, his eyelids beginning to droop...

"Hey."

_Damn. _

Who was here to bother him _now?_ Probably Yusuke, bored out of his mind, thinking it'd be fun to annoy him...

He stayed perfectly still, pretending to have already fallen asleep. Maybe the baka would leave him alone then....

"Nice try, but I already know that you're awake, Hiei."

_Fuck him...._His teeth gritting, he sharply raised his head up straight and cocked it so that he could see below him, completely prepared to kick the Spirit Detective's ass...only to find someone who he wasn't used to seeing.

"Were you expecting Santa Claus?"

It was that black-haired ningen...Bronwyn's old boyfriend...Aiku, if he remembered correctly...not like it really mattered to him if he got the name right or not. He was standing right beneath the branch he was on, staring up at the fire demon with an expression that suggested he found the whole situation amusing.

"What do you want, ningen?" He snorted, not even trying in the least bit to hide his resentment. It didn't faze Aiku in the least bit, though. Actually, his smile even grew a tad at the statement.

"Nothing in particular. I was bored, thought I'd come out here and take a walk...and who do I come upon but you!" He said with a fake cheery tone, as if purposely trying to piss off Hiei.

"Do you want an award?" He snarled sarcastically, allowing his eyes to close. "Leave me alone, ningen."

"Well, aren't you cranky...I was just wondering if you were up for a quick swordfight."

"Why would I waste my time on someone I already know I can beat?"

"I dunno about that...I think you got lucky last time."

"Your thought is a WASTE of time."

"Care to prove that?"

Silence. Hiei allowed his eyes to open slowly and float back over to Aiku, a hardening glint evident. The boy didn't appear as if he was going to give up....best to get the pointless brawl over with than have a long, drawn-out argument.

"Fine."

Aiku's emerald-tinted eyes widened a bit at his acceptance, but it quickly faded and was replaced with a grin as he immediately pulled the silver blade out of his jeans pocket. Though the fire demon could be a bit of a prick at times, one had to admit he could be quite impressive when it came down to pure skills. _Besides...this isn't about some stupid sword brawl...I've got other things to take care of..._

His grip tightened on the black handle of the knife, causing it to shimmer and take the form of a good-sized sword. He swung it a bit for good measure, as Hiei looked on, almost in a bored fashion as he pulled his own sword out.

"I won't go easy on you." It sounded more like a threat than a warning. Aiku didn't feel worried, though...he was better at defensive than offensive, and would most likely come out of it without a scratch. Plus, he didn't expect them to be fighting for very long...His grin growing, he held his weapon out in front of him, ready to begin.

Needless to say, the usually tranquil forest was abruptly filled with the sounds of metal clangs as they echoed endlessly across the land.

It wasn't a very brutal clash, really. More like two kids having picked up a pair of abandoned sword and deciding to have some fun. The goal wasn't to hurt each other; the goal was to kill time.

"So...you and Bronwyn are pretty close, ne?" Aiku asked in an innocent tone as he cocked his head to the side so as to avoid a swipe.

"Yes. What do you care?" Hiei sneered, obviously a little perturbed at the subject the black-haired male had chosen to 'chat' about.

Aiku couldn't help but smirk at his response. _Possessive, isn't he..._

"How long have you guys been...together?"

"I don't keep track of time."

"Why?"

"A waste of energy."

Silence ensued for a few seconds.

"She...did tell you, right?" It sounded like a completely innocent question. Hiei didn't even seem to acknowledge it, though, his focus instead appearing to be on his actions with his weapon.

Aiku's eyes hardened at the fire demon, waiting...waiting for it...__

_Come on...._

"...about what?"

_Got 'em. He actually took it. _

The male's smile widened broadly for a fleeting second before he quickly replaced it with an expression of mild shock as he immediately relinquished his attack, pulling the sword away from the brawl.

"You mean...she never mentioned it to you?" He gasped in a whole-hearted fashion, regarding Hiei with wide eyes. The fire demon seemed to grow bitter at this, unhappy with the fact that he didn't know something that seemed like basic knowledge.

"Mentioned what?!" He was growing agitated now. If the ningen was just going to lead him on...then why had he brought it up in the first place?!?

"Maybe I shouldn't..." Aiku whispered, his attitude abruptly growing sullen as he turned away from Hiei, towards the endless stretch of trees and other foliage. "I mean...why complicate the relationship?" He sighed exaggeratedly, but suddenly found his view of the plants blocked by Hiei's glare of death as the fire demon now stood in front of him, giving off the obvious vibe that he was angry, to say the least.

"Tell me." His voice was so thickly coated with contempt that it sent a chill down Aiku's spine. But, of course, he retained his cool, instead smiling at the pissed-off youkai.

"Well..let me just start off by saying that Wyn's behavior has probably worn off by now, so there's no need to be all alarmed...but..."

"Talk or I'll make sure you never talk again by cutting out your tongue."

_Ooh, testy..._Aiku chuckled a bit at the threat. "Fine...let's just say that when she was working for Zink...Wyn used to...sleep around a bit."

"What?"

"You know...for money?"

"...." Silence befell Hiei for a moment. He had seen those types of ningens before...filthy, scantily-clad figures who would do anything for a few hundred yen...they disgusted him. But, never would he of suspected Bronwyn to have been one of them, even if it was quite a long time ago...it just didn't seem to fit in anywhere with her personality.

"How do you even know about this?" He abruptly asked in a sharp tone, as if everything was Aiku's fault.

"Oh, I heard things...from _very _reliable sources. I swear, that girl was physically unable to hold an actual relationship past the pay-off." His tone sounded identical to one who was rallying off the events of a lunch with a friend. When he noticed that Hiei's expression was darkening quickly, though, he spoke up hurriedly once again. "But things are different now, I'm sure!" He reassured, "She would never _DREAM _of going back to that ever again. You know...unless she was tight on cash or something like that." He grinned broadly, waiting for the fire demon's reaction. To his mild surprise, Hiei's expression remained exactly the same, though a few new thoughts were now swimming around his head.

He decided to continue. "But that wouldn't happen...she has a job, doesn't she?"

"...no."

"She doesn't?" He feigned surprise. "Well...don't worry 'bout it...I'm sure it's not going on anymore." He roused up a cough at the end of the sentence for no apparent reason. Just to make it a bit more interesting, it seemed...

Hiei was silent for a few moments before speaking up once more. "What about you?"

"What do ya' mean?"

"She was with you...did it happen then?" It was almost shocking Aiku how well the little endeavor was proceeding. Hiei seemed genuinely ticked-off, which only made it easier for the black-haired male...

"Well...yes." He whispered, suddenly sounding a tad upset. "Sad, really...she snuck out behind my back the first few months we were together...I always wondered where her new clothes came from..."

The images of Bronwyn modeling those new outfits from the expensive boutique in the mall abruptly flashed into Hiei's head, but he mentally shoved it away. She had gotten that money from Kurama, he remembered...but would the kitsune really have given her enough money to buy _ALL _of those outfits?

"And don't get me started on how flaky she can be at times...."

He was sprung back into reality by Aiku's statement, and brought his icy gaze to the male in front of him once more. "What do you mean?" He asked tentatively after a few moments of silence had passed between them. The ningen was REALLY beginning to tick him off...by shoving all of this new information directly in his face, it had appeared like he was blatantly mocking him...plus, he was actually egging him on by asking questions when he knew he shouldn't be...but how could he not? Why had Bronwyn never told him about any of this stuff before? Had she been purposely trying to hide it from him? What if Aiku was wrong, and she was secretly-

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed. The minute you aren't entertaining enough for her, she just leaves you for something else. Like she doesn't even care..." Aiku's sudden statement had once again shattered Hiei's train of thought, causing the fire demon's expression to grow even more venomous.

"She's never done that to me."

Aiku's smile curled up into a smirk at his statement. "Sure about that?"

Silence.

"As I seem to recall..." He continued, "She seemed pretty comfortable with just leaving you with those ningens at the medical tent at the amusement park...or am I mistaken?" He conveniently left out the fact that he and Yusuke had been the ones to persuade her to come with them. Hiei didn't really need to know that...

Words managed to elude the fire demon. Aiku was right...Bronwyn had pretty much abandoned him after his...'mishap' (He never called it 'vomiting'; that was a ningen occurance). Was it because she hadn't found the situation...entertaining enough?

But that just didn't sound right...her expression had seemed to convey genuine worry, he remembered...but...maybe believable facial expressions were something you picked up when you were in a certain....'profession' for so long....

Nothing was making sense anymore. It was the simplest way to put it.

"And if it's happened before....what will stop it from happening again?" Aiku abruptly spoke up once more, emerald eyes glinting as he regarded Hiei with an innocent expression.

Perfect.

It was so perfect.

Even he had had his doubts, but this...this was just so amazingly flawless that he was starting to have difficulty holding down his laughter.

He suddenly felt something rising up in his throat, but instead of a chuckle, like he had genuinely expected it to be, it was quite a deep yawn. Stretching his arms out involuntarily, he seemed to realize for the first time that the afternoon was rapidly turning into evening.

"Would you look at the time!" Aiku cheerily pointed out, his head cocked towards the bluish-grayish tinted sky. "Well, I better get going...have the people at my residence wondering by now..." He chirped, letting his emerald-tinted eyes drop back down to Hiei, who was staring at the dirt ground, muttering something to himself that even Aiku, standing only a foot away from him, couldn't hear...

"We'll...finish our little brawl later, okay?" He suggested to the fire demon, who was still paying virtually no notice to him. He waited a second or two before trying once more. "Um...earth to Hiei...?" He whispered tentatively, snapping his fingers directly in front of the fire youkai's face. Only a few tries proceeded before his head snapped up abruptly, obviously realizing for the first time that Aiku was still present.

"Later..." He finally spoke up, a distracted tone evident in his voice.

The male before him took this as a good-enough answer, though, and a pleasant smile drifted across his face as he began to stroll away from the fire demon, back onto the small dirt path that he knew would lead him back to the busy neighborhood street right beside the forest.

The smile remained plastered on his face until he was sure he was far enough down the path so that Hiei would be unable to hear him, and then he finally let forth the laugh he had been forcing down for so long, his smile having transformed into a broad smirk.

_That was almost too easy..._

**-NOTES-**

This chapter reminds me of how much I loathe Aiku...x.x

But, besides that...yes, this chapter sucked, thank-you very much. I already knew this...

But people, PLEASE...push that button down there and leave me a review. I think that part of the reason this chapter took so long was because I became depressed by the fact that my readers seemed to be abandoning me because it took so long to get a chapter out. Well, hopefully, the story will be livening up enough for me to get inspiration....

But, yes...I don't care if it's one word or twenty...it'll make my day, which has been very depressing so far...x.x

__


	10. Chapter Ten: Bronwyn's Lunch Date

AGH.

It's finally DONE. x.x __

Honestly, this chapter has taken me the longest and been the most uncooperative out of every chapter of this series I've ever written. There were many a time I was sure I would never get it done. O.o

But I did finally, and here it is. Just a warning, my writing might be a little off. I'm still in a sticky war with the dreaded WRITER'S BLOCK, and it's really hampering my skills at this point.

Just...bear with me.

Also, sorry, but no YYH peeps in here. x.x This chapter strictly takes place between Bronwyn and Aiku. Hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: Me no own YYH. Me do own Bronwyn and Aiku. That is all. ::click;beeeeeeeeeep...::

-**BEGINNING-__**

_'And a thousand words_

_Call out through the ages_

_They'll fly to you _

_Even though we can't see...'_

She had no idea where she had picked up the song she was currently singing quietly under her breath...maybe she had heard it while flipping through daytime t.v....maybe she had caught a snippet or two of it from the handheld radio that Shiori had sitting on the kitchen counter...

It didn't matter. The only thing she DID know was that it was lodged deep in her brain and was refusing to leave. Great.

Just-freaking-great.

Bronwyn was situated directly in front of the large mirror in the bedroom, absently running a brush through her hair, brown eyes lazily focused on her identical reflection. She continued to hum the same tune over and over and over again, so many times that it felt as though her head would explode if one more note echoed within her.

It wasn't like she had anything else to do, though. Kurama had that pesky ningen school on the weekdays, Shiori was usually off looking for job interviews in the city, and Aiku...well, he really didn't give a shit about what he did as long as it was around women. __

Which meant that most of the time, she was completely alone in the comfortable two-story home, with nothing to do but eat potato chips and watch things called 'soaps' on television.

Not exactly the vision of perfection she had beheld for her newfound ningen life.

It wasn't like she could complain, though...would she rather have been dead? That meant that at this time, her body would be buried under huge amounts of dirt and rock, her skin gradually decaying, allowing all sorts of disgusting bugs to create a new home within it...

_Okay...no earthly idea WHY exactly I'm thinking about that..._

She silently cursed under her breath as the brush abruptly became caught in a particularly tangled mess of strands. Gritting her teeth, she pulled it as hard as she could, hoping that it would come unstuck so that she could continue on...

Finally, after a few moments had passed, she managed to wrench it out of its prison, allowing a startled yelp to escape her lips as she nearly fell backwards out of the chair, the sudden release of the brush causing her body to rocket back uncontrollably.

_And as long as I'm talking to myself...why is everything I do have to be so damn complicated?!? Honestly, one day, I'm going to be taking a bath and a curling iron is going to fall in, mark my words..._

She uttered a heavy sigh, deciding to temporarily give up the idea of brushing the huge rat's nest others would call 'hair' in favor of something more interesting.

Like trying to track down Hiei.

She hadn't spoken or even seen him since the 'amusement park' incident, and it weighed down heavily on her mind, for some reason. With Shiori's words still echoing with an immense intensity throughout her head as well, it was practically a miracle she hadn't already tied the poor fire demon up and stuck him in the back of her closet for safekeeping.

She had to admit, even though the mental image was quite amusing, that would be a tad drastic . Best to just calmly explain the entire situation, and hope that he did not think of her as a fool for it.

But to do that, she had to FIND him first...which was not as easy as it sounded, by any means.

_I guess that's what I'll be doing today, then..._Bronwyn thought to herself as she rose out of the chair, the only thing left to accomplish before she left being to grab the house key. She had already made a promise to Kurama that she would lock the door before leaving at ANY time of the day. Normally, she would of blown him off and done what she pleased, but it hadn't been any ordinary promise...he had forced her to swear on her knife, which was practically sacred in her eyes; a promise she could NEVER break.

_He knows me WAAAY too well..._

For some reason, the thought caused an amused smirk to play across her pale face as she meandered over to the bedside table. Various items were scattered there...assorted wrappers from food she had managed to sneak up to the bedroom and had been too lazy to hide, loose change she had found on sidewalks and such, pieces of crumpled-up paper where short notes had been hastily scrawled down....

_Ah. _She had finally spotted it, nestled beneath an old candy wrapper. Its silvery glint gave it away almost immediately. _Found you, you little bastard..._

She scooted a few of the useless items off the table onto the carpet, finally unearthing the small house-key. A smile currently adorning Bronwyn's face, she reached forward and laced her fingers around the sides of the item, picking it up off of the table...

_....What is that?_

The key was not alone. Strangely enough, a slim piece of string had been tied around the small loophole located near its top, and was connected with something even weirder; a folded-up square of notebook paper.

Now obviously confused, Bronwyn only blinked for a moment, chocolate-tinted eyes wide with curiosity before she slowly rose her other hand to the section where the string had been tied to the key. Luckily, it was a simple knot, and she was able to get it undone without much of a hassle. __

_Why...did someone...who would..._

When she had freed the note and had thrown both the key and the string onto the bed, she only fingered the note thoughtlessly for a second before slowly beginning to open it, curiosity overwhelming her.

_Is it from Shiori? Maybe another favor she wants me to do..._

As she finished unfolding the note, she could catch sight of several hastily scrawled words spread out all over the page. Tightening her grip on both sides of the slice of paper, she slowly allowed her eyes to follow them...

_Hey Wyn!_

_You know, you really should consider putting a lock on your door. And maybe an alarm while you're at it. Anyone could waltz right in...murderers, thieves...good thing it was just me, good ole' loveable Aiku, ne? _

A small half-frown slowly crossed her face as she read the last sentence of the first paragraph, suddenly feeling as though she was about to vomit. Just how vain could that bastard BE?? And...what the hell had he been doing in her room?!

_Yeah, you're probably wearing that half-frown face you always make when something disgusts you after reading that last comment, aren't ya?_

The frown vanished from her face almost immediately.

_Thought so. Well, anyway, I better get to the point. You know, it's been a long time since we've actually sat down and talked-_

_Not long enough..._Bronwyn thought bitterly, nails practically digging into the edges of the paper. She continued on, though, only out of mere curiosity as to what the purpose of the note happened to be.

_And a lot of things have happened since you've been here. I've had a few...incidents, shall we say..._

Now _that_ piqued her interest.

_I'll put this bluntly...I've had some bad times. I haven't really told anyone about them, though, and...I just really think I need to get my thoughts out in the open, and since you seem to be the only one available_, _and since I'm desperate...well, do you just think you could meet me for lunch in town?_

Her entire body stiffened. Was he...actually stupid enough to be asking her on a DATE?!?

_I know what you're thinking. 'Oh no, oh golly, is he asking little ole' me on a date?' Well, to answer that question, no. Think of it more as a friendly gathering among old friends, if you will..._

She managed a disbelieving snort at that one. _'Old friends'.... you just keep living in that fantasy world, Aiku...._

_Show up if you want. I'll even pay for your food. Believe it or not, I do have a small bit of ningen money. But it won't hurt MY feelings if you decide I'm too much of a bastard to grace me with your presence. I could care less. All I'm doing is asking for a simple favor._

_If you do happen to find that little slice of mercy hidden deep down in you, though, just show up in front of the grocery store at around 1:30. _

_Later._

_Aiku. _

__Her eyes remained locked on the name for a moment or two, an unreadable emotion plastered on her face as she slowly allowed herself to fall down onto the bed.

_How could he even consider asking me this?!? And trying to make me feel guilty for the answer he already KNEW was coming?!?! That jerk, that ugly, two-faced, egotistical... _

Her anger at his idiotic nature felt so pent-up at that moment that she proceeded to do the only thing available at the time; with a venomous expression resting on her face, she tore the note directly down the middle.

The satisfying sound of paper ripping pleased her, in a strange way, and the look of immense anger melted away, leaving only a malicious smile in its wake. Before she knew it, she had ripped it again, and then again, and then once more, her teeth gritting harder with every echo until finally, the only thing left in her open hands was a multitude of tiny snippets of notebook paper.

_That would have to be my answer, Aiku...._They elegantly drifted down to the cream-colored carpet, hardened chocolate-tinted eyes following them every step of the way.

With an embellished sigh of frustration, she allowed herself to fall backwards onto the bed, tendrils of red hair flowing up around her face as her head hit the pillow.

_The nerve of him...he KNEW I would say no....he knew it..._

Her eyes drifted up to the ceiling for no apparent reason at that point. Same boring white ceiling. Why couldn't it be a ceiling that....oh, she didn't know, changed colors according to her mood? She had seen rings like that....why not ceilings or walls?

_It would sure make life a hell of a lot more interesting...._

She turned onto her side, hoping that maybe something more exciting would be in sight. But the first thing she lay eyes on was...the torn remnants of the note.

_NO. _

She immediately averted her eyes, desperately directing them somewhere else, anywhere else...they finally fell on the lamp resting on her bedside table.

The paint was chipped, the color of the shade was considerably faded...in other words, it wasn't anything terribly exciting. She allowed her gaze to vaguely drift over it for a second before it dropped back down to the carpet....

**NEVER. Never in a million years would I ever even CONSIDER....**

She allowed her arm to drop down to beside the bed, fingertips barely drifting against the furry carpet...until they abruptly slammed against something else. Closing her fingers in around it, she tried to distinguish its identity just by feel...

It was a torn slice of the paper.

**ARGH!!!**

In a fleeting moment of immense frustration, she crumpled the small section as hard as she could, though she didn't allow it drop once more.

_....He did say free food...._

She slowly brought her hand back up, unclenching her grip so as to let it fall onto her chest.

_But...NO..._

_It's NOT a date..._

_It NEVER WILL be a date..._

_And of course, free food..._

She tentatively rose her hands up to the crumpled piece of paper, and slowly began to open it...

_-grocery store at 1:30-_

It was a miracle she had even made THAT out, what with his chicken scratch...

She allowed her to head to limply fall to the side so as to see the digital clock....it was a few minutes away from one.

_But...but...._

A scream of anguish practically flew from her lips as she abruptly grabbed the pillow beneath her head and angrily brought it against her face as hard as she could.

_Fine, Aiku, _FINE..._You and your twisted mind games win this time..._

_I'll show up. _

_But I will NOT enjoy one second of it. _

_I will NOT be the least bit happy._

_And..._

_I'll make sure to order the most expensive thing off the menu._

xxxxxxxx

Bronwyn felt her entire body cringe once again as the grocery store's bell jingled as yet another person entered the store, its tone as merry and bright as ever.

_Seriously...a pair of wire-cutters, maybe a mallet....and I'll be freeeeee...._

She had been standing outside the damned store for almost twenty minutes now, her only mildly interesting thing to do to pass the time being to watch the humans wander along the street in front of her, each one different in their own unique way...but even that got boring after a while. __

_Why...why did I allow myself to get roped into this?!?_

She hadn't bothered with getting dressed up...instead, she had lazily thrown a pair of old, faded jeans on, along with a blue shirt from the clean laundry pile that had yet to be folded and put away...She had brushed her hair a little more thoroughly...but that wasn't for Aiku, by any means. It was just because she had felt like it.

Raising her hand so as to shield her eyes from the afternoon sun, she warily glanced out at the clock that was situated in the center of the town.

It was 1:40.

_He's late. _

_Or maybe not. Maybe he's not showing up at all....maybe this his way of getting back at me, by making me stand here like an idiot all day waiting for someone who's not even going to-_

"Hey."

...._show....up...._

Her expression having changed into one of dread, she slowly allowed herself to turn around so as to face him, hoping that maybe she was mistaken, maybe it was somebody else, anybody else...

Nope, same ole' Aiku.

An amused smirk flickered across his pale face as he surveyed her, thick black strands of hair hanging in front of his eyes, hands roughly shoved into his pockets. He had strangely acquired different clothes, somehow....his attire merely consisted of a dark-blue jeans jacket which hung loosely off of him, as well as jeans that looked like they had just been bought only mere minutes ago.

_Probably begged money off of Kurama..._She thought bitterly as her gaze traveled over him, her frown spreading even farther across her face as he took another step towards her.

"Whoa...never thought you'd actually show up..." He chuckled disbelievingly, emerald-tinted eyes reflecting genuine surprise. Bronwyn only sneered at him, carelessly batting a particularly long tendril of hair away from her face.

"Yep. So, are we gonna go, or what? Cause I'd like to get this over with..." She growled, trying to convince her tone to sound as cruel as humanly possible.

Aiku's expression failed to waver in the least. Instead, he let forth a small laugh under his breath, as though he found the entire situation amusing, before silently gesturing for her to follow him down the sidewalk as he turned away.

Bronwyn only watched blankly as he strolled right into the thick throngs of people doing their weekly shopping, before finally uttering a heavy sigh, beginning to unwillingly follow him into the crowd.

Something told her this was going to be a LONG day....

xxxxxxxxxx

The restaurant that Aiku had chosen for them to dine at had been located only a block or two away, a small, cozy building appropriately named _Komakai._

When the two had first entered it, Bronwyn had immediately taken notice of the fact that everyone seemed to be wearing some sort of dressy attire, whether it be a long, flowing dress or a fashionable skirt and shirt or a classy suit...glancing down at her own clothes, she couldn't help but feel a tad out of place.

But when she glanced over at Aiku, he seemed perfectly comfortable in the environment they were now in, wearing a friendly half-smile as he politely rallied off his name to the host, who led them through the multitude of crowded tables to a small section in the back of the restaurant, one that was sparsely populated.

"I read about this place in the newspaper. It's supposed to be nice." He stated nonchalantly as he picked up the menu, holding it up in front of him as he began to study it.

Bronwyn, on the other hand, made no such move to even touch hers, instead staring the front of his open menu with a clearly dumbfounded expression before abruptly reaching up and yanking it down.

"What do you think you're doing?!" She hissed as he looked up at her bewilderedly. "Do you think I'll really just sit here and be all chipper and giddy? Listen, buddy, I didn't have to come here. But now that I did...I think you owe me an explanation for why you invited me."

To her faint surprise, Aiku's expression hardly even wavered in the least bit, his only motion being to calmly place his elbows on the table, hands clasped together firmly.

"Tell me...who do you talk to when you have problems?"

Silence.

The question had caught her completely off-guard, to say the least. Out of everything he could of said to her...she blinked slowly, chocolate-tinted eyes glimmering with curiosity.

Before she could supply an answer, though, he spoke up once more, a small half-smile playing across his face. "You can confide in a lot of people, can't you? You've known these people you call friends for quite a while now...and you feel as though you can tell them anything."

Bronwyn had no earthly idea of what to say in response to that. She had no idea where he was going, where his train of thought was even coming from in the first place. The best choice that seemed available at that moment appeared to be keeping her mouth shut.

"Well...I can't do that. I haven't known these people for more than one week. To put it bluntly...I just don't feel comfortable around them." He seemed to hesitate for a moment, and Bronwyn strangely took notice of the fact that his green eyes seemed to lose a bit of their glimmer as they rose to meet hers. "But...you...I've known you since we were both fifteen, Bronwyn."

The female sitting across the table from him failed to respond, one eyebrow arched as chocolate-tinted eyes peered out at him, faintly wondering where he was going to go with his thought. __

"You're the only person who ever seemed to care about me...and...I wanted to share something with you."

Without even waiting for a reaction from Bronwyn, he threw the jacket he had been wearing off of his back in one fluid motion, allowing it to fall onto the seat behind him. As a few fleeting moments of silence passed by, she remained confused, unsure of just what he was accomplishing by doing what he had was...

And then she caught a glimpse of it.

His arms....he slowly brought them back up to the table's surface, allowing them to rest there so that she could get a better look at what adorned them.

Scars.

More deep gashes than she could ever hope to count traveled all over his bronzed skin. There were so many, with each looking incredibly painful in its own way. They were everywhere...

Her small hand, beginning to shake with newfound surprise, slowly rose to her open mouth as her other delicately reached forward toward him, grazing against one gently, almost as though she was checking to make sure she wasn't just imagining things. To prove her query, Aiku grimaced almost involuntarily, a brave smirk appearing on his face as he looked back at her.

"I got them over a year ago, but...they still hurt a little...I'm such a wimp, ne?" He attempted to joke.

Bronwyn's expression of shock failed to change, though. Afer a few more uncomfortable seconds had passed, she finally managed to reclaim her voice.

"Wha...what the HELL happened to you?!" Her voice heightened to a screech, grabbing the attention of a few assorted people sitting near them, who glanced up curiously at the sound of her panicked voice.

Aiku seemed to find her amusing, though, and he chuckled under his breath before finally addressing her question. "I told you...I had a rough time after you left. Zink got really ticked-off at us all...he griped at every little mistake, that bastard..." She could practically hear his teeth gritting from her current position as his green-tinted eyes hardened right before her. "Well, one time...I failed to relay a message because I was really sick and had fallen asleep by mistake."

Was it just her...or could Bronwyn detect a hint of sadness in his voice?

This was definitely NOT the Aiku she had last seen in Makai all those years ago. He had been a conniving, self-centered bastard back then, only looking out for number one, never even casting a second glance at anyone else...but now....he seemed practically human, almost.

It was without a doubt...unnerving.

"Well...he punished me, as you can see." He gestured his head towards his battered arms. "That's when I decided to leave. I just couldn't handle that demon's abuse any longer." His eyes lowered to the surface of the table once again, hands abruptly clenching into fists. "Why...why did I put up with that? Why?!" Bronwyn's eyes managed to widen even further as he slammed one clenched hand down on the table, causing her to jump.

"Aiku..." She stopped herself before she could proceed with her thought. What the hell did she think she was doing? Bastard or not, this was STILL Aiku, the jerk who had tried to KILL her! She couldn't feel sorry for him! He didn't deserve the sympathy! She shouldn't-

"You...you were smart to get out when you did." Her thoughts were abruptly shattered as his voice brought her eyes back to him, only to see that he was warmly smiling at her once again. "I can't tell you how glad I was to hear that you hadn't died from his attack on you. Even though, you might not believe it...I really do care about you, Bronwyn. I want you to be happy."

She flinched uncontrollably as she realized something incredibly warm was slowly sneaking its way onto her hand, which was currently laying on the table in front of her. Glancing down timidly, she confirmed her worst fear; Aiku's hand was now resting on top of hers.

Panic beginning to rise in the back of her throat, she abruptly glanced up again only for a surprised squeak to escape her as she saw that Aiku was now leaning his upper body closer towards her, vibrant green eyes peering out expectantly...

"ARE you happy, Bronwyn? Do you really have everything you want in life? Is everything...to you liking..?"

She wanted to utter some smart retort, some bitter comment...ANYTHING. Every word managed to get caught in her throat, creating a huge lump which grew more uncomfortable with each passing second..and Aiku was moving closer and closer towards her...

"Can I help you?"

Both heads immediately swivelled wildly over to the direction of the voice, only to see a cheerful-looking waitress standing there expectantly, a order pad clutched in her hand, a pen in the other.

"My name is Natsumo, and I'll be your server today! Are you ready to order?"

"....Of course we are..." Aiku said slowly, his voice unusually thick as he immediately brought himself back to his original position, removing his hand from Bronwyn's as he did, causing the red-head to heave a silent sigh of relief.

_Why...why didn't I stop him? I should of whapped him the second his hand touched mine...why...why didn't I?_

She couldn't help but feel color rising to her cheeks as she fidgeted uncomfortably in her chair, Aiku's polite voice only reaching her ears as faded blurs as he rallied off his order to the waitress. She even failed to notice that he had ordered something for her as well. She was too preoccupied with her own strange behavior to care.

When the waitress had finally scribbled everything down and vacated their table, though, the two were drenched in silence for a moment or two before Aiku finally cleared his throat conspicuously. "Well, where was I..." He pondered outloud before speaking up once more. "Oh, yes...well, after I left Zink, I didn't really have anywhere else to go. I slept under trees and in caves, hunted and killed animals with my bare hands...it wasn't fun, I'll tell you that..." He joked half-heartedly.

Bronwyn could only stare as he spoke.

What had just happened? It was almost like he had shifted back to an earlier conversation, completely forgetting what had been going on only a few moments ago. Had he done it on purpose? Or had he just...forgotten...?

"But...I...I started having bad dreams." The sudden quivering in his voice managed to catch Bronwyn's attention, and she glanced back up at him as he continued. "I couldn't forget everything that happened...between us...when I tried to kill you..."

He was shaking...she took notice of that almost immediately. He hugged both of his shoulders tight, head bowed so that his eyes remained on his knees, as though he was ashamed...

"You must understand that I wasn't myself that night...dark 't change..." He stuttered, beginning to rock back and forth slightly, seemingly trying to comfort himself.

Bronwyn only watched him, obviously confused. _What is he talking about? What dark images? What couldn't he change?_

"But...I was just scared. Scared of myself..." Tucking a thick strand of black hair neatly behind his ear, he abruptly glanced back up at Bronwyn, causing her to stiffen up.

His eyes...they looked so sad...so...intense...

In fact, his gaze made her feel so uncomfortable that the spoon she had been holding in her grasp thoughtlessly was abruptly released, causing it to clatter over the edge of the table and onto the floor. Seizing this as the perfect chance to get away, at least for a second's time, she eagerly hopped off her chair and bent down to retrieve it...

...only to helplessly watch as Aiku managed to scoop it up first, having jumped down onto his knees so as to beat her to it. He now held it between his fingers thoughtlessly, green eyes glimmering with undeciphered emotion. __

"Do you understand?" His voice was nothing more than a mere whisper, haunting in its very tone.

"...What...?" Involuntary shivers were relentlessly running down her back. She felt so scared...so confused...

And then....it all happened so fast.

She hadn't even realized that Aiku had moved until his body was already shoved up against hers, his arms wrapped around her small figure tightly.

He was hugging her.

Her breath abruptly caught in her throat as she came to realize something else...her shoulder was beginning to feel extremely damp.

Was he..crying?!

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry for everything!" He cried out between anguished sobs. "Do you think you could ever forgive me?!"

She didn't answer for a moment, chocolate-tinted eyes as wide as humanly possible as she gawked at the mane of wild black hair resting on her shoulder. His entire body was shaking, his sobs echoing through her ears with a force that...she had never felt before...

Maybe he WAS still a little two-faced twit...

Maybe he HAD made some bad decisions in his life that resulted in her pain...

Maybe he DID try to kill her once...

But right now...none of that mattered anymore...

And all she could see now was a child. A frightened child with nowhere to go, no one to turn to. He had been all alone...and now...

_Oh, Aiku...even though we're the same age, you seem so much more insecure, so afraid of the world...I just wish I could help you now...more than anything..._

She tentatively rose her own limp arms up and brought them over his shaking body, allowing her palms to gently rest on his back.

"I...I forgive you, Aiku..." She whispered in his ear soothingly, a warm smile playing across her face as she tried to comfort him as best she could. "I don't want you...to cry anymore..."

She listened as his sobs finally began to subside after a more moments had passed, and he weakly allowed his head to raise so as to meet her warm gaze...

It hit her.

Actually, it was more like it SLAMMED into her. The entire reality of the situation had abruptly crashed down on top of her, and the feeling wasn't pleasant.

She was sitting on the floor of a fancy restaurant. With Aiku, her EX-boyfriend. And they were hugging.

_What the hell...do I think I'M DOING..?!_

Her eyes immediately flew over to the various people staring strangely at the two on the floor, an abrupt feeling of disorientation overtaking her.

She couldn't breathe; gasps of air kept getting lodged in her throat. And Aiku's limp body pressed up against hers in an uncomfortable position wasn't really helping much.

She wasn't doing anything wrong...but then...why did she feel so dirty?

She had no earthly idea. The only thing she did know was that she had to get out of there and away from him.

NOW.

"I-I'm sorry...I...I h ave to go..." She stuttered, unable to hide the panicked tone in her voice as she roughly shoved Aiku backoff of her, jumping to her feet and immediately swiveling around wildly in a search for the nearest exit. She had to get far away...as far away as she possibly could..

Aiku, needless to say, looked exceptionally bewildered as he watched the girl twit around like a scared chicken. Rubbing the last few tears gathered in his eyes away, he rose to his feet as well, placing a wary hand on her shoulder. "But we haven't even eaten yet-"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!!!" She even surprised herself with how loud she could scream, abruptly cocking her head so as to flash a purely venomous look in the boy's direction, bitter tears threatening to spring from her eyes. "I HATE YOU, AIKU! I WILL ALWAYS HATE YOU!"

Aiku slowly blinked, tenderly removing his hand from her shoulder and taking a step back. "Are you so sure of that?" He finally asked after a few seconds had slowly passed, eyes glinting expectantly.

"N-No! I mean...YES, I AM sure!" A anguished cry of frustration escaped her as both hands flew to her head. So many different thoughts whirring around her head...her brain felt as though it was about to explode.

And before she even knew what was happening, she was running as fast as her feet would carry her towards the front door of the restaurant, shoving it open with all the force she could muster up. Without even glancing back to see what the reactions of workers and customers alike were to her abrupt dash, she immediately rounded the corner of the building, entering a narrow alley, littered with trash cans.

Uttering a loud cry of unabashed relief, she slumped down to her knees, heavy panting echoing from her. _I almost...I couldn't...I thought that maybe..._

_"I'm sorry, I'm sorry for everything!"_

_"Do you forgive me?" _

_"I just want you to be happy." _

Inexplicably, her hand slowly traveled up to her sleeve, its palm gently pressing down on the damp area that had been created only moments ago...

_His tears...he really cried...for me..._

Her hand abruptly tensed up, squeezing the loose material thoughtlessly.

_NO. No matter how much it seems...and no matter how much I wish him to..._

_He will never change._

_Never..._

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened? You two seemed so happy when I took your order..."

Aiku managed to flash a polite smile at the young waitress fidgeting uncomfortably in front of him. She had overheard the entire fiasco and thinking assistance was needed, she immediately rushed over.

"Just a little argument. Everything's alright." He chirped. "If you don't mind, I'll just clean up the mess here and be on my way."

The woman nodded obediently before scurrying off to another location in the restaurant, leaving Aiku to his now-abandoned table. He calmly began to scoop up various pieces of silverware into a neat pile, an content expression resting on his face.

Anyone watching him at that moment would only see a kind, well-mannered young man, cleaning up the small mess that his rash lunch date had left behind in her sudden exit.

But under his breath, so quiet that one even a single foot away couldn't detect it...Aiku was laughing. Laughing about his ingenious ideas, laughing about how Bronwyn had practically lost her head in a public place over him...and laughing about how delectably well things were proceeding.

_Everything is going according to plan..._

-**END**-

I must tell you, this chapter was PAINFUL to write. Not because of WB, but because of Aiku. ::stabstabstab!: Though he may be cute, he's still a bastard in my opinion. I may even hate him more than I do Zink, and trust me, that a LOTTA hate. O.o

And next chapter...the REAL fun starts. Muahahaha....MUAHAHAHAHA!!!

::coughcough:: Erm...ignore that.

Oh, and if anyone hasn't looked at my author profile lately...I've kept forgetting to mention that I have a Livejournal! Usually, I have information about upcoming stories, when updates will occur, yada yada yada...

The journal IS friends-only, though...but don't worry...I'll friend pretty much everyone who asks. The link is on the bottom of my author profile.

Let's see, what else...Peace on earth, much love to readers if they REVIEW....

Nope, that's about it. Ciao!


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